Total Drama Adventures: Lost Island!
by Max's Library
Summary: The first installment of Total Drama Adventures! Shipped off to an abandoned resort island, eighteen brand new contestants will have to deal with a sadistic host, mysterious CO-host, freaky animatronics, death-trap rides, and a new chef that may or may not actually be french. (syoc- apps closed.)
1. Prologue: Contestants Needed!

(A/N: Hello, and welcome to Total Drama: Adventures. I used to write frequently on fanfiction on an account now lost to time, and specialized in Total Drama stories. I had a few stories that were very well reviewed, but there was one thing I set out to do that I never quite was able to finish- an epic extended universe spanning multiple sequels, prequels, and spin offs. I've always had a passion for SYOC stories and helping creators bring their characters to life, so after many years, I've returned to do just that in the first installment of Total Drama Adventures! So, if this is something you're interested in, keep reading, and get ready for the long haul!)

Chris tapped his foot impatiently, watching as the producers across from him sifted through application after application.  
"Well?" He asked after a while, his tone sharp and annoyed. He'd been sitting in the offices of Billions Broadcasting for too long, and he was getting antsy. It had been a few years since the last season of Total Drama, and after finally getting renewed, the waiting process was taking much longer than he would have liked.  
"Well... we've found a few we're interested in, but frankly, just not enough of what we're looking for," one of the men answered. "We're thinking of extending the audition period for just a little while longer. To make sure we have the perfect cast, you understand?"  
Chris let out a groan, drumming his fingertips on the table. "Come onnnn! what's the hold up? Who cares if they're not perfect, they're just gonna get blown up, anyway!"  
"What?"  
"Uh, nothing!"  
"Chris," the producer sighed. "you're just going to have to be patient. But don't worry... we've got a new commercial going out that I think will really draw in candidates."  
The producer swiveled around in his chair, flipping on the TV; and, conveniently, the aforementioned commercial.  
_"Are you ready for a summer of adventure?  
A summer of making friends?  
A summer of mystery?_

_And a summer of CASH PRIZES?!_

_Then look no further! Total Drama is coming back, and better than ever!_

_With returning host Chris McLean, a million dollar prize, and a contest on an all new, abandoned island, what do you have to lose other than your dignity on national television!_

_Go online and sign up today!"_

**_-xxx-_**

**APPLICATION**

_Rules please read these thoroughly, and put "gummy bear pizza guy" at the end of your application to show you've looked these over!_

_1\. your contest may not be competing to help a sick family member. This is used too often to gain sympathy in syocs, and is unoriginal. any mention of this will result in the application being thrown out._

_2\. character has to have some kind of flaw. This doesn't have to mean that they can only be strong or smart- you can go to school, join the football team and study hard, after all, the same as you can be a bit nerdy but also try and stay in shape. but please please PLEASE do not make your character perfect._

_3\. dont be a bad sport about losing. like i said, i intend to have quite a few sequels in the future, so even if your character loses first in this season, they could absolutely come back next season for a redemption story and end up winning. who knows? but if you get eliminated and throw a tantrum, you will not be invited back in the future._

_4\. that's it- have fun! There will be 16 to 18 spots open!_

**Name:  
Age:  
Gender:**

**Stereotype:  
Personality:  
Race:  
Orientation:**

**Appearance:**

**Strengths:**  
**Weaknesses:**  
**Fears:**  
**Swimsuit:**  
**Formal wear:**  
**Casual wear:**  
**Quote:**  
**What would they do with the money if they won?:**  
**Why Total Drama?:**  
**Any goals aside from winning?:**  
**Audition Tape (not required, but always helpful!):**

(A/N: Thanks for reading! Like I said, I hope to make this a series that sticks around for years to come, and entertains all of you! Oh, and if you're interested, you may want to follow my account. I don't say that to self promote, or to make you think that will increase your chances, but in the event I have to delete this application- people used to harass syoc stories- you'll be alerted if I reupload. Thanks, and buckle up!)


	2. Prologue: Everyone's Here!

(A/N: And here we are guys, the apps are in, and I've sorted through each submission to bring you, what i think, will be an exciting, diverse and entertaining cast for the first installment of Total Drama Adventures! Now, that said, one important thing to note: this won't just be an announcement chapter where I simply list the competitors, authors, thank you and then move on. I'm actually dropping a little bit of plot here- an appetizer, if you will, of what's to come. So, you're going to see the names of the competitors accepted, but for the FULL credits, please note there will be a separate author's note at the end of this chapter listing each character a second time along with their respective author. This is just because I want to give everyone credit, but, there's no reason in universe to list author names without breaking the fourth wall. So! That said, here's the first... semi-proper chapter of Total Drama Adventures: Lost Island! Sit back, relax, and enjoy!)

Chris let out a content sigh, stretching out as he got comfortable on his pool chair. Now this was the life; sailing on a luxury yacht to go host your own TV show on a tropical island, drink in hand, sun shining on you. Laying there, shirt unbuttoned, sunglasses on, and skin... starting to get an uneven pink, the man forgetting his sunscreen, he could feel his life's stresses melt away, one by one... until he felt something jabbed sharply into his abdomen.  
"Ngh... OW! What?" Chris demanded, eyes jerking open as he saw an intern standing over him, poking and prodding him with a Ypad.  
"Call for you," the intern said apologetically, wincing a bit as Chris snatched the device up. "Its our producers."  
"Greeeeeat," Chris groaned, leaning back in his chair and lifting his sunglasses. "Just... get out of here! Go do... intern things!"

The intern gave a shrug... and, though Chris didn't seem to be paying attention, pulled on a life vest, heading toward the edge of the boat, where a few other interns were gathering.  
The host sighed, shaking his head, clicking the green button on the Ypad, and looking into the camera. There, on videochat was one of his producers, looking disgruntled.

"Chris. I told you to be ready for filming in an hour. Why don't you look ready for filming?" he asked, gruffly.

"Relaxxxx! I'm working on my tan, Mr. Burke!" Chris said, dismissively. "I'm competing for Women's Magazine 'Hundred Sexiest Men' this year! It's hard to prove on perfection, I know, but girls can't resist a-"

"You're not getting on that list," Burke interrupted. "Also, you look like a lobster."

Chris frowned, looking down at his body, clearly beginning to burn. "Well, you know. Some girls like that."

"None of them." Burke sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. He was a young... well, not really, but he looked alright for his age, in his early forties. Pale skinned, bald headed, and a dark black, neatly trimmed stubble on his face, glasses on his nose. "Look Chris. this is pretty important. Have you even memorized the cast list?"

"Wha... of course! What kind of host do you take me for?" Chris demanded, trying not to sound nervous. "I... I have it all memorized! Right here!"

"Then who are they."

Chris looked around wildly, before discreetly pulling out his phone, out of camera view, and opening up the notes section where he had the list saved.  
"that's... haha, that's so easy! Let's see... the boys were...  
Simon Graves,

Leon Salvatore,

Peter Gramange,

Ash McCoy,

Gael Abel Jackson,

Adam Jackson- no relation to Gael,

Andrew Stones,

Aaron Mayer,

and Kahlin Mora!"

There was a long silence, Burke just glaring at him. "gee, chris. That sounded completely natural, and not like you were reading off of a list. Then tell me, who were the girls?"

"Uh... of course, the girls! Ha ha! They were..." He paused, scrolling down. "Oh yeah!

Felicity Gray,

Ingrid Glenmarie,

Maxine Greyson,

Miriam Hakimi,

Shelbi Debra Cage,

Michelle LeVogue,

Rosella... uh.. didn't see a last name... or maybe that's her full name..."

"CHRIS!"

"Right, right! And Maya Fielder, and Stephanie Volare!" Chris finished, clearing his throat. "See? I remembered all eighteen, no problem!"

"So you did," Burke grunt. "So you know their boat is arriving at the same time as yours?"

"Wait, it is?" Chris blinked.

"Look behind you, McLean."

Chris turned around, and there, not far off, was a second yacht. "That's... them?"  
"Yes, Chris."

"Oh, that's... hey. Wait a second." Chris turned his head, beginning to notice all of his interns strapping on vests and hopping overboard. "WHY ARE ALL OF MY INTERNS ABANDONING SHIP?!"

"You really don't read anything I send to you, do you?" Burke sighed. "Well, that's going to make the dramatic entrance a lot more surprising, then. You'll see in a moment. Say hello to your co-host for me once you land!"

"I'll see in a- hey!" Chris shot to his feet as the call hung up. "What do you mean I'll see?! What do you mean- CO-HOST?!

Chris looked around, beginning to panic a bit. He liked surprises- loved them, actually. But not when the surprise was on him. He wondered what was going on- and, a few moments later, he wished he had never asked. There was a mighty roar, waves erupting all around him. And from the depths of the water emerged a monstrosity the likes Chris had never seen before; a huge pair of gaping jaws, a horrific, mechanical roar erupting from them.  
Chris took one look, frozen in fear. Was that? It couldn't be. Not out here. A...  
"WHAAAAAALE!"

**_To be continued..._**

(A/N: And, ladies and gents, this is the part of the episode where Roundabout would start playing XD. Like i said, wanted to do something a bit... different with this one, add just a tiny bit of story. What will happen to Chris? Is that actually a "monstro-us" whale? What kind of island IS this, exactly? And what have our- YOUR competitors gotten themselves into? And for the first time, Chris has a co-host? All this and more, next time on Total Drama Adventures- Lost Island!

...oh, but, I'm nearly forgetting, aren't I! I promised a complete, concise cast list, complete with creator credits! Well, I definitely don't want to do without that, so, without further ado... drumroll please...

**Boys:**

Ash McCoy, the Wannabe Doctor (TheDarkLegate)

Leon Salvatore, the Lionheart Brawler (Epifanio Therion)

Peter Gramange, the Mathematician (tempokeep)

Gael Abel Jackson, the Loner (Demon420)

Kahlin Mora, the Laid-back Baseballer (Nikolai777)

Aaron Mayer, the Shy Prince (szenkinmaciej)

Adam Jackson, the Movie Nerd (John Hammond 1993)

Simon Graves, the Jester (Dogtimus)

Andrew Stones, the Skater Boy (lightningblossom23)

**Girls:**

Felicity Gray, the Autistic Bookworm (gamergirl101)

Ingrid "Grimmy" Glenmarie, the Awkward Goth Girl (sanjiandserea)

Maxine "Max" Greyson, the Energetic Tomboy (Dogtimus)

Miriam Hakimi, the Fiery Dancer (Nikolai 777)

Shelbi Debra Cage, the Wolf Whisperer (Jack Hammer Man)

Michelle "Mitsy" LeVogue, the Fashionista (TheDarkLegate)

Rosella, the Love Obsessed Gypsy (Skyn1nja123)

Maya Fielder, the Confident Cowgirl (Penguin Parade)

Stephanie Volare, the Sports Fanatic (Yosdave Alejandro)

And that about does it for me, folks! Super thrilled to finally bring you the first proper episode, which i hope will be up in the next couple of days! Have a great weekend, and I'll see you soon!)


	3. Episode 1: Welcome to Wunderland, Pt 1

(A/N: Howdy everyone! Well, wanted to talk just a little bit before we got into the meat and potatoes of the chapter here. So, as a few reviewers have pointed out, via PM or otherwise, there were some issues last chapter, and with the rp in a whole. So, due to oversight, there was actually one crucial part left out of the application, the backstory. Many of you went ahead and wrote one in anyway, which is great! But, if you didn't, and you still want to, absolutely go ahead and PM me a backstory for your character. It's completely optional but helps in getting them fleshed out later. Second, a few people brought up contestants having similar names- that I really can't do much about. I did noticed it and chuckled a bit, but I thought it would be a little silly to ask for people to change the names of their competitors for this reason. Third, Nikolai made some valid points, about adding the stereotypes next to the cast members, and formatting issues. I'll address both. The first was actually an intentional decision, and one I debated about before posting the chapter. I ended up thinking, "nah, I'll just show versus tell", and figured I'd let the competitor's actions and introductions speak for themselves, but I thought it back over and decided to relent, so I went back and updated the cast list accordingly. As for the formatting, another oversight. Because of an issue with the word processor I use, the file upload method of uploading my chapters is a bit busted, and as a result, I opted to simply copy-n-paste. The issue with that is, well... the word processor's formatting vs FF's formatting don't agree with each other, and since its been a looooong time since I've uploaded, I just sorta forgot it could be an issue. Nevertheless, I tried to fix some of the formatting issues from before, and will attempt to remain vigilant of this in the future. So I know I've kind of rambled a bit here, but I thiiiiink I've said everything I had to say. Well, there's one OTHER thing, but I'll bring that up at the end of the chapter. You'll see what I mean! As for now, without further ado, the first REAL episode of Total Drama Adventures: Lost Island!)

* * *

Chris wasn't sure how long he had stood there, screaming at the top of his lungs, but it was long enough for him to run out of breath, nearly doubling over as he gasped for air, coughing a bit. He took a moment, catching his breath, only to stand back upright and resume his screaming, staring at the monster before him in wide eyed shock.  
"Come on, I'm too young to die! Plus I haven't been on a cleanse in six months, I probably taste awful!" Chris yelled, borderline weeping- only to stop, taking a few shaky breathes, which quickly turned into befuddlement when he noticed the whale just... staring at him, it's jaw slightly agape. Come to think of it, it didn't look like any whale he had ever seen. It was... almost cartoonish in appearance, its eyes round and wide, lips curled.

The jaws began to creak open, and Chris yelped, leaping backward, nearly slipping and falling. The beast's jaws opened, and opened, the host able to hear gears whirring as its tongue slid out of its mouth... to reveal three robotic boys inside. They stared at Chris with dead eyes, before coming to life with movement, pulling out instruments and beginning to play. Or, at least, audio played from the mechanical means, crackling, warble-y voices singing out their greetings.

"_Welcome to our land!  
We hope your stay is grand!  
With friends and food and rides galore!  
There's magic here and so much more!  
Welcome, to Magic Islaaaaaaand!"_

Then, all at once, the whale's tongue retracted, its mouth closed, and the mechanical beast sunk beneath the waves once more. Chris walked over to the railing, glancing down- he could see it slipping away, guided by a track. He stared, dumbfounded... before letting out a relieved laugh.

"They should have just TOLD me we were headed to some theme park! Abandoned island, my ass!" He laughed, before realizing the boat wasn't moving; unable to progress over the railing. "...oh."  
So THAT was why his interns had all gone on the lifeboats. He sighed, buttoning up his shirt, and beginning to gather his things. "I can't believe they just left me! There better still be a lifeboat open!"

There was, lucky enough for him. There was a lot of scrambling, slipping, and splashing as Chris tried and failed to climb into the small raft that awaited him in the water. A near heart attack awaited him, as well, Chris nearly relieving himself when he saw the animatronic whale peering at him from below the waves, yelping and scrambling to get into the boat.

"No one to help me to shore... worst season ever," he grumbled to himself, grabbing the boat's singular paddle and beginning to make his way ashore. There, he could see, the interns were already beginning to set up without him. He couldn't believe the nerve. Set up? Without HIM? The host of the show? It was almost like he was becoming second fiddle around here.

* * *

"Rolling in two minutes, Chris," the camera-man warned. "The boat is coming up now."

Chris sighed, waving a hand dismissively at the cameraman. It had been about twenty minutes since he had arrived on shore; no time for make up, bathroom break, or a snack. He was simply thrust into position, next to a statue of a cartoon ferret wearing green overalls and a matching hat, and told to stay still.

"Do I really have to stand next to this thing?" Chris whined. "It's creeeepy!"

"Yup. You have to," the camera-man responded. "It's for the opening. You're on in three... two..." The camera held up a single finger, then nodded, signaling Chris that filming had begun.

For his part, the host took it in stride. His grimace was replaced with a grin, immediately gaining his composure as he puffed out his chest proudly, looking directly into the camera. He was the star of the show, after all, and if there was one thing he got surprisingly little credit for, it was his sense of showmanship.

"Welcome," he announced, "to Total Drama: Lost Island!"  
He gave a moment's pause for dramatic effect, letting each word sink in, before continuing.  
"Welcome back viewers! It's been a few years since you last saw us at Pahkitew Island! We said sayonara to our old cast and brought some new ones in, and... who was it who won? Zombie boy, that one girl? You know, I really can't remember! But that was then, anyway, and this is now! New island, new cast, same stakes! See, we've brought in eighteen brand spanking new campers to compete for one million dollars in this abandoned resort island, of the coast of... well, we're SOMEWHERE around North America, anyway! I get paid for my looks, not for geography!" He leaned over, draping an arm around the statue next to him for support. "You wanted it, you got it; we're back for crazy challenges, break ups, hook ups, betrayals, schemes, teams, and broken dreams! Aaaand, who knows? Maybe we'll see a familiar face or two at some point? what do you think, buddy?" Chris turned to the statue, flashing a smug smile.  
"And there's our boat of contestants now! So, strap in, grab a snack, and get ready for the latest season of Total Drama!

Chris watched as the boat slowly pulled up to the island- and snickering a bit as he heard a few screams when the mechanical whale made its presence known. But finally, the boat stopped at the lone wooden dock, the crew lowering the ramp. After what felt like an impossibly long wait, it was finally time.

"So... let's meet our first competitors, hmmm?"

Chris walked over, grinning from ear to ear as the first few teens began to disembark. Any trace of his foul mood from earlier in the day had been erased. After all, a new group of teens to harass and torture. What wasn't there to be happy about?

"Well... it looks like first off the boat is... well, ladies' first! It's Maxine Greyson!"

The first off the boat was a rather jolly looking girl- curvaceous, with a large bust, and a larger still gut. Her hair was a bit on the short side, only coming down to her shoulders or so, ginger colored and with a fringe, her blue eyes un-obscured. Clothes wise, she kept it simple, with a light blue, collared shirt, tied at the bottom to reveal her midriff, along with cream colored, knee-length capri's.

"Former competitive eater, and... I don't really know what else, I really only skim these applications!" Chris shrugged. "Maxine! Maxie! Maxamillion! How we hangin'?"

"I'm doing go-" she cut herself off midway with a belch, giggling a bit, and patting her stomach. "Sorry Chris! Lots of good food on that cruise! And just Max is fine for me!" she told him with a warm smile.

"...whaaaaat? My ship didn't have any food," Chris grumbled. "Crafts services is REALLY gonna hear it from me at our next meeting... next up, looks like... he was a skater boy until they said see you later boy- THEY being his family, as they wished him goodbye on his trip here- Andrew Sto- WOAH!"

Chris leapt out of the way as a boy slid down the ramp on his skateboard, pausing just before making contact with the sand. He stomped down on the back of his board, causing it to stand up, snatching it off the ground as he brushed his messy brown hair out of his eyes. "Didn't think you were so jumpy, McLean," he teased, stepping off onto the sand. He wore a black adidas sweatshirt, torn blue jeans, and a red cap, slid backward on his head.

"Andrew Stones," Chris finished, clearly annoyed. "Congratulations, you're on the list, kid!"

"Aw, come on. I couldn't resist!" Andrew protest. "And it's Andy, by the way. Can't stand Andrew."

"Don't care!" Chris snapped, glaring at him. "Now, stand over there!"

As Andy rolled his eyes, moving off to the side, a young girl stepped off the boat, with big green eyes and light brown hair braided into pigtails. She was light of complexion, with freckles on her nose, black square glasses on her face. Her outfit was simple, a white polo shirt, sneakers and shorts, with a few colorful bracelets on each arm.

"I'm so happy to be here!" she gushed, talking a bit fast. "Thank you so much for having me on! I hope I can help out my team!"

"And you must be Felicity Gray," Chris announced. "That's cool and all, kid, but we don't even _have _teams yet! Just go stand over there in the background for promotional shots, or something."

"Oh, come on, Chris!" Max huffed, shaking her head as Felicity shrunk a bit at the harsh words. "No need to be mean! Why don't you come stand over here, Felicity."

"O-okay!" Felicity smiled, brightening up as she stepped over to Max.

"Next up... Mitsy LeVogue... c'mon.. that's actually her real name, is it?" Chris snickered.

An attractive, girl began to strut down the ramp, scoffing a bit at Chris' comments. She wore a loose fitting white tank top, cut just enough to expose her stomach, along with jean shorts and tan sandals. She wore deep red lipstick, and blue framed sunglasses she now pushed over her head, revealing blue eyes. Her blonde hair was pulled back into a ponytail, her skin pale. "Ugh. Self branding, Chris. Ever heard of it?" She asked, rolling her eyes. "I'm a designer." She stepped on to the sand, eyeing over the other contestants, before muttering, "And it looks like this island is going to need a LOT of redesign."

"What was that?" Andy asked, frowning, Mitsy flashing him a fake smile and quickly stepping aside.

"Hmm. Lotta girls," Chris noted. "Let's get a boy here, even things out!"

Chris got his wish; the next person to appear was a latino with lightly tanned skin. He was toned but slender, with deep brown eyes, a goatee, his dark brown hair short, but a bit on the shaggy side. His outfit was a bit sporty- a blue baseball jersey over a white t-shirt, with brown jogging pants, white converse, and fingerless gloves all topped off with a gray baseball cap worn backwards.

"Uh oh, I actually made it all the way here, huh?" he chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. "Sup guys? I'm Kyle Mora. Nice to-"

"Kyyyyyyyle! you're supposed to let meeeeee introduce you!" Chris whined, stomping his foot in the sand.

"...uh... introduce me then?" Kyle blinked, a little amused.

"Too late, you already did it! You're on the list now, too!"

Andy smirked as Kyle looked perplexed. "Hey, we're list buddies!" the skater greeted as Kyle walked over to him.

"Well, hey there, list buddy! Whatever that means," Kyle mused.

Chris shook his head, muttering to himself, turning just in time to see the next competitor. "Here we go- standing in at six feet tall, we have crazy cat guy... Gael Abel Jackson!"

Gael stood at the top of the ramp, shaking his head. "Wait, I'm not actually a... oh boy," he sighed, beginning to make his way down. He had tanned skin, his black hair being cut short on the sides, long on the top with a bit of a curl. Curiously enough, he also had heterochromia- one eye blue, the other green. His outfit consisted of a black v-neck, with ripped jeans and white converse. He wore dog tags around his neck which jingled a bit with each step. "I just work at a cat cafe, Chris... or, does that sound worse? This may have been a mistake."

Chris smirked as Gael quietly slid off to one side, standing a bit further away from the other competitors. "Ah... I love embarrassing the newbies!" Chris cackled. "Next up... ohhhhh nooo. Is that Simon?"

Chris groaned as a tall, pale, and skinny young man emerged from the boat. He had blue eyes, with tidy brown hair, neatly combed and parted to the side, and dressed well to match. He wore a white dress shirt with the top button undone, his black trousers swim fitting and dress shoes polished to a shine. His sleeves were rolled up, with a black watch on his arm. He strode down the ramp confidently, a grin on his face. "Nice to meet you, everybody! Glad I got off on the right abandoned island in the middle of nowhere!" He snickered. "Hey Chris, is that a microphone taped to your chest or are you just happy to see me?"

"Simon Graves, everybody," Chris groaned. "yeah, they warned me about your jokes."

"Hey, don't worry! They don't hurt! Worst they'll do is leave you in stitches!... get it? Chris? Do you-"

"YES FOR THE LOVE OF GOD I GET IT, JUST GO STAND OVER THERE!" Chris shouted, pointing off to the rest of the cast. Snickering to himself, Simon cheerfully joined the others. "Okay, okay. Please let whoever's next not be such a chatterbox! Looks like... Ash McCoy!"

Ash was a handsome young man, wearing a red track suit with his top unzipped to reveal his white shirt beneath. His skin was fair, eyes blue, blonde hair long and wavy. His body was fairly muscular; not a John Cena or Arnold Schwarzenegger, but just someone who worked out. He walked with a slight, almost unnoticeable limp down the ramp, giving everyone a smile.

"Hey, nice to meet you guys! I'm Ash," he said, stepping into the sand- curiously enough, he held a simple black cane in his right hand, though he didn't seem to be using it. "Don't know if you can tell by my outfit, but I'm an aspiring hair stylist. I like long walks on the beach, tea, and romantic comedies."

Mitsy looked him over, shaking her head. "I hope you're joking. With that outfit, you shouldn't be styling anything, let alone yourself."

"I was joking, yes," Ash smiled, unfazed.

"Pfft. Hey buster, that's my gimmick!" Simon teased, as Ash made his way over to the other contestants.

"Alright, alright, tough crowd. I'll stick to my day job, then," Ash chuckled. "If anyone gets hurt and needs someone with rudimentary first aid lessons instead of, say, actual medical personnel, I'm your boy."

"No he isn't, because that's how get lawsuits!" Chris corrected quickly. "Moving on, we're halfway there, because next up, its... Ingrid Glenmarie!"

An awkward looking goth girl shyly stepped into view. She was slender, her black hair cut short into a bob, giving a clear view of her face, which was covered in foundation. She had charcoal eyeshadow, dark black lipstick, and blue eyes. Her attire was a black dress, short sleeved, knee high, and a bit frilly, with fishnets that went to her thighs, and kitten heels. She looked around at everyone, giving a deep sigh.

"Uh, hi," she murmured, "...sooo. Did you guys know that you can't hum while holding your nose?"

"Um... what?" Kyle blinked.

Ingrid just gave another deep sigh, shaking her head. "Nothing, nevermind. Just... call me Grimmy, alright? Grim-ee, not grimy."

"You got it, grimy!" Chris smirked, trying to suppress childish giggles. Let it not be said he didn't have a sense of humor- even if it was incredibly petty, childish, and sadistic. "Just go over there, Grimy. You know you really should take a shower or something!"

Grimmy lowered her head a bit, ducking behind the other competitors, already regretting opening up her mouth.

"Alright! Looks like for this next contestant, we're heading to the country!" Chris declared. "Or... the country is headed to us. Look, the point I'm making is our next contestant is from a farm or something, I dunno man, there's a lot of you guys to introduce. Maya Fielder, everybody!"

"Well, howdy y'all!" Maya greeted, grinning as she stepped into view. She was dressed in the quintessential cowboy garb- a plaid shirt tied to just above her midriff, jeans and cowboy boots, complete with a cowboy hat. She had dark brown eyes, tan skin, and wavy long, light brown hair. "This island's a change of pace, that's for sure- betcha didn't expect to see someone like me all the way out here!"

She hopped off the boat, stepping up to the contestants- taking a spot between Kyle and Ash.

"You boys mind if I mosey on next to you?" she winked, flashing them a smile.

"Barking up the wrong tree," Kyle told her, clearing his throat.

"I don't know. Last girl that was this friendly to me was just trying to get me to read her literature," Ash joked.

"Whaaaat? No love for me?" Simon pouted- albeit playfully.

"Let's see, who's up next?" Chris pondered. "Hm? Oh! Looks like... Adam Jackson! No relation to Gael, just in case any of you viewers at home were wondering!"

Out stepped a tall, lanky teen with black hair and glasses, clothes adorned with all sorts of movie memorabilia. A Jurassic Park t-shirt, with pins from movies like _Tomorrowland_, _Terminator_, and _Blade Runner_, outfit complete with shoes that had the Gregarious Games logo.

"Welcome... to Jurassic Park!" He grinned as he looked around, surveying his surroundings as he stepped off the boat.

"Movie buff, huh?" Chris noted as he stroked his chin. "that's a shame. You, buddy, are about four seasons too late! You coulda rocked TDA."

"I think I'll do fine," Adam shrugged. "Adventure is always out there."

"...what is that? Some kind of movie reference?" Chris blinked, confused. "I don't get it. Moving on!"  
Chris put a hand on Adam's shoulder, quite rudely shoving him aside. "Ahem! next up... Shelbi Debra Cage!"

Chris' confident smile was erased when Shelbi suddenly leapt into the scene- _literally_ \- crouching on all fours and sniffing the air. She growled a moment, clambering down the boat- quite the sight to see. With a black t-shirt that was a bit ripped, along with a white mini-cape, brown shorts, and no footwear to speak of, the small, caramel-toned girl crawled along, sniffing each of the contestants. She had black hair in a pixie cut, with green eyes, her nails all seeming a bit sharp, and... her teeth too, for that matter.

"So... what do you think about _her_, medicine boy?" Mitsy whispered to Ash.

"What, her? Totally normal. Absolutely normal things to be doing," Ash said, though he held his hands up as Shelbi sniffed him, then moved on to Gael.

"Uh... is this how other people are greeting each other these days?" Gael asked, leaning back a bit.

Shelbi came to a stop, before squatting down, shaking her head. "Oh. Sorry! Shelbi forgets some people aren't used to her acting like this!" she hummed, scratching behind her ear with her foot.

"Implying, what, some people are?" Mitsy scoffed.

"Well yeah! Shelbi's family! And the wolves!" Shelbi said, as if this were totally normal. "Her wolf family! Awooo!"

Chris watched, eyes watering up a bit as he laughed. "Oh man. I don't know if this is the best cast ever, but its definitely one of the most entertaining! Meet Shelbi, the girl... RAISED by wolves! Like for real!"

"Raised by wolves, eh? Guess you could say this show has gone to the dogs!" Simon chimed in.

"Shut up, Simon!" Chris snapped. "Ahem. Anyway! Almost done, only a couple left! Who's up next? Why... its Miriam Hakimi!"

Out walked an attractive young Arabic woman; an hourglass body, almost cat-like eyes, and long, wavy black hair pulled back in a ponytail. Her clothes were colorful, a black bikini top under a blue denim vest, a purple pink skirt and brown penny boots. She took a step further, before twirling to the center of the ramp, striking a pose, a confident smile on her face.

"Play my music- I'm here to win," she declared, strutting down the ramp like it was a runway.

"Ugh. Gag me," Mitsy remarked with an eyeroll.

"Just look in a mirror then, honey," Miriam shot back, Mitsy scowling in response.

"Or just at that outfit. Did you buy that at the thrift store, or fish it out of the garbage?" Mitsy crossed her arms, the two girls glaring at one another.

"Oooh. Gonna need some aloe for these burns!" Chris grinned. "I loooove it! Love love love it. Buuut, gonna have to ask you to save the cat fighting for later, because trust me, there will be time. Now... not so much." Chris checked his watch, sighing. "Still not done yet? I miss the days when our cast only consisted of like, thirteen people. So many less faces to remember. Good thing this show involves constant eliminations, amirite? Anyway, nexxxxt up, Leon Salvatore!"

Leon was an imposing sight- tall, muscular, with an admittedly attractive face and beige skin tone. He wore a rather garish outfit; a black, British styled unzipped winter jacket, revealing a white short sleeved shirt with a red sun mark on it. Black jeans with two zippers and a flaming lion, a belt with four chains, and all topped off with sunglasses and black finger-less gloves. "All right! Nice to meet you guys, I'm Leon!" He announced loudly, slamming his fist into his palm. "Haha, we're all gonna have a great time together! Whatever you need, just call on me!"

Andy winced a bit at the introduction. "Mind yelling a little louder? Didn't catch that," he joked playfully.

"Haha, sorry! I get carried away sometimes," Leon smiled, marching down to meet the other contestants. "But I'm sure we'll all get along great, right?"

At this, it was Chris' turn to laugh. Hysterically. "All of you? Get along great?" He wiped his eyes, shaking his head. "Oh man. First time huh? Well, doesn't matter! Moving on, we have... oh, my personal favorite- and not just because his dad is super wealthy and I'm trying to suck up- our next contestant, Aaron Mayer!"

Aaron sheepishly stepped out into view, hearing everything Chris had said, already embarrassed. "Uh... h-hey," he greeted, waving at everyone. "I'm Aaron..." He was massively uncomfortable, having the spotlight put on him like that... and he wasn't really fond of people talking so openly about his family's wealth, either. He was rather unassuming looking- skinny, with straight black hair, pale skin, with a black sweater, blue jeans and red sneakers.

"Pssst. I'm not saying I'm open to bribes, but I'm _totally _open to donations," Chris whispered to Aaron as he walked by, the boy slinking away even quicker. "...hmph. Kids these days. Not even _trying _to buy their way upward into life," the host sighed, disappointed. "Well well well, down to the last few! Stephanie Volare, you're up!"

Stephanie beamed as she stepped out. She was very slim, wearing a white t-shirt with a green hoodie and matching shoes, outfit complete by a pair of black jeans. Her hair was short and red with green eyes, the girl seeming brimming with energy. "Hey, guys! This is going to be a helluva season, huh?" She greet, hurrying down the ramp. "So, Chris? When are we getting to the good stuff? The challenges and contests?"

"Ha, my thoughts exactly!" Leon agreed, giving Stephanie a grin.

"Ease up, that'll come," Chris told her, holding up a hand. "We're almost done, just two left! With that, our final female contest, the gypsy Rosella!"

It was clear she was the youngest of the cast as she stepped out, the gypsy girl smiling sweetly. She was mocha-skinned and thin, her dark brown hair tied into a pony-tail that parted in the middle. Her outfit was unique, a white off the shoulder blouse, olive green harem pants, brown sandals, topped off with a red bandanna around her hair and a gold anklet.

"Thank you for having me on," she greeted, bowing her head a bit, before slowly making her way down... discreetly eyeing a few of the boys over in the process, though no one seemed to notice. She quietly took her place with a few other girls, smiling at them but not saying much.

"And finally," Chris began, "last, and possibly the least- who knows, maybe not, you guys are all green anyway- Peter Gramange!"  
As Peter stepped out, Chris changed his tune. "Yeah, no, last AND least, changed my mind," Chris shrugged.

Imagine a nerd, and Peter's appearance is likely what comes to mind- a white polo shirt, dark khakis and brown shoes, with a pair of glasses resting upon his nose. His brown hair was combed neatly, almost neurotically, his green eyes peering at the competitors, a few books tucked under his arm.

"Greetings, fellow contestants!" He smiled, holding up a hand. "Such a pleasure to meet you all! I'm Peter, and I can't wait to meet my team and have a _great_ time with all of you!"

"Yeah, we get it." Chris waved a hand dismissively at Peter. "You missed your Big Bang Theory audition. Get lost, nerd!"

"Oh, uh, sorry Chris! Of course I'll get lost!" Peter chuckled, flashing a toothy grin and making his way to the contestants.

"Sorry about that," Max chuckled, patting him on the back. "Chris has been giving everyone trouble today, but everyone here is super friendly! Most of us, anyway!"

"Good, good!" Peter nod. "I can't wait to get to know each of you! How many are here, seventeen plus me? Should be an enlightening experience, competing with such... interesting comrades!"

"I said _shut up nerd_!" Chris snapped, before breathing a sigh of relief. "Thank the lord! That's finally everybody!"  
Chris looked around at the cast, sizing them up. "Hmm... that's... well, you're all something, I guess. Not quite what I had in mind, but you know what, sculptor can't always work with the best clay, right? So! I know you're eager to get to the first challenge-"

Chris was interrupted by a loud burst of static from the ferret statue. "Yup, everyone must be pretty eager to get on with it, right?" a voice asked. It was pitched down, unclear whether it was male or female.

"_Holygoditsalive"_ Chris yelped, flailing backward and falling back into the sand, a few- okay, most of the contestants snickering at him.

"No, it's not alive. Just a speaker," the voice told him. "C'mon, you were told you had a co-host, remember?"

"My co-host is... a robot ferret?" Chris asked, dumbly.

"No. Slow on the uptake huh? Always were!" the voice mocked. "No, just a woman or a man using a PA system. See, the producers thought a mystery host would be _just _the thing to spice up the show!"

"Uh huh..." Miriam nodded, eyeing the statue warily. "I mean, I'm glad you're not some killer AI or something, but don't you think it would be better to just... host normally?"

"Nope!" the voice answered. "Mystery equals ratings... and not even Chris knows who I am!"

"Okay but, why a ferret?" Andy asked, frowning.

"Yes, that... seems a little unusual," Leon agreed, eyeing it warily.

"Actually... I think I know that ferret," Aaron spoke up. "Um... it kind of looks like... Franz the Ferret."

"Franz?" Maxine asked, confused. "Who's Franz?"

"Ding ding ding!" the voice chuckled a bit. "No one really knows in most parts of the world. See, back in the eighties, a small animation company started up in Germany. They wanted to rival... well, that _other_ animation company with the mouse. Don't want to say the name and get sued, do I? It took off for a bit, had a bit of a boom in the nineties; a little company known as _Wunderland_. I don't have all the backround, but they wanted to rival a certain _other _theme park, so, they bought this island, and decided to turn it into a luxury resort! But, it got abandoned a few years into development. Now, only some animatronics, buildings, and these freaky ferret statues are still here."

Aaron nodded. "I'm German, and even I didn't know about this island..."

"Like I said- pretty obscure stuff," the voice continued. "But, that's not important. Well, it is, but not as important as me! So because I can't tell you my name, you can just call me... the Overseer."

"Overseer?" Chris stood up, dusting himself off. "Are you serious? You come in here, steal my thunder and then give yourself some lame name like the overseer?! Who do you think you are?!"

"I just told you. Mystery. Shhh." the voice snapped. "Buuut... yeah, its kinda lame. You know what? Just call me Franz for now. And you know, these statues aren't just for me to talk through this season, either! They'll also serve as confessionals! For... a bit of flavor."

"What, we just talk into them?" Maya asked. "But what if someone listens in?"

"Good question! Thing is, each of these bad boys will be surrounded by a few members of the production crew for just that reason. They'll make sure everyone waits their turn, so you don't, say, confess your nefarious plans only for someone to listen in. They'll guarantee complete privacy when you listen," Franz answered. "Or just like, whisper. you know, if you don't believe me."

"Why are you- _I was supposed to explain that_!" Chris seethed.

"Yeah, but I did it first," Franz responded. "Guess I'm the better host! Speaking of, better explain the first challenge, huh? Pretty simple. Two teams- and no, these aren't permanent. But for your first challenge, you'll be competing boys versus girls. Each team is given a map, and using it, you'll have to find the resort itself where you'll be staying. That's the first part of the challenge. The first team there wins an advantage in the second part, which will be explained later on. No elimination tonight- the winning team just gets a prize. Pretty important one, so just trust me."

At this, two crew members came up, handing Leon and Stephanie each a map.

"So, get going! Work together, figure out those maps, and bring home the victory for your side!" Franz exclaimed. "Or don't. Tear each other apart for all I care. Good TV either way!"

"This is weird, buuuut, that prize sounded pretty nifty," Kyle commented. "I say we get going. All apart of the show after all, right?"

"Definitely. Come on! Like I said before, Adventure is out there!" Adam smiled.

"My sentiments exactly!" Leon grinned. "Come on, guys! This way!"

"Oh, um, do let me know if you need help with that map!" Peter offered. "I'm quite skilled at reading them, you know!"

With that, the boys began to march off. "C'mon ladies. We're not letting them win, are we?" Stephanie grinned. "Let's go! Um... anyone know how to read this thing!"

"I can try!" Felicity offered. "I love reading! I mean, a map is a little different, but I'm sure we can figure it out!"

Chris stared at Franz, glaring a hole through the machine as the contestants all headed out. "_You._"

"Huh, I was about to say the same to you!" Franz laughed. "Well, probably something much more eloquent than just 'you', because, you know, I'm not some washed up celebrity airhead!"

"Washed u- WASHED UP?!" Chris shouted. "What is your problem with me?! Now I know you're trying to steal my thunder!"

"Guilty!" Franz laughed. "See Chris, you and I, we go way back! So when this position opened up, well, I couldn't resist! Making you look like a chump in front of the audience and the producers... oh man. This'll be the best payback I could have asked for."

"Payback? For what?" Chris' eyes widened in fear. "Waiiit. Are you some crazed fan I didn't give an autograph to? A former contestant? A stalker? _The CRA_? I paid my taxes this year!"

"I dunno. Could be all of those. Could be none of them! Looks like you'll just have to find out... on the next episode of Total Drama!" Franz began laughing, another burst of static indicating he had hung up.

Chris stood, staring, absolutely slack jawed. He couldn't believe it. Years after Pahkitew Island, and this is what he came back to?

"That..." Chris began, "_WAS MY LINE!"_

_**To Be Continued...**_

* * *

(A/N: And there we have it, folks, the first real chapter of TDLI! Well... maybe not proper exactly, this WAS still an introduction. But I hope you're all happy with how it turned out, and I promise the next chapter will have, you know, an actual challenge! Now. As for that thing i mentioned in the first author's note. So this is completely optional, but i left out one part of the application on purpose: romantic interests. That's because I wanted you to actually see the competitors before making a decision on that. And to be fair, i tried to give you a glimpse of everyone's personality, but it could still be too early to make up your mind. But that said, if you have any ideas for a romantic connection, gay or straight, feel free to PM me your thoughts. That said, I already have my own ideas. You might also be wondering the orientations of the contestants. I chose not to just... list them. I feel like that would be betraying the characters to just lump them into a few categories based on their sexuality, making a list just feels blunt. And, honestly, a straight man being attracted to a lesbian, or a lesbian attracted to a straight girl, well, things like that happen in real life. I think it would be realistic if there was a little awkwardness here and there. That's life, you know? Anyway, I digress! I really hope you guys enjoyed, and are excited for what's to come! Let me know what your thoughts are! who do you think is behind Franz? what's up with this crazy island? Who do you think will be gone first? Almost all of these... will not be answered next episode, because where's the fun in that? XD Thanks for reading!)


	4. Episode 2: Welcome to Wunderland, Pt 2

(A/N: Hello again! How're you guys all doing today? I read the reviews and I'm so glad you guys dug the first intro chapter! I agree with the sentiment that they're one of, if not THE most important chapter in an SYOC. Like they say, you can only make a first impression once, right? Not too much to say right now, though. I hope you guys enjoy this episode!)

* * *

Emerald forests, white sands with sapphire water crashing down on the shore. Birds sang their songs from high up in the canopy of trees, the temperature chill, but pleasant. When it came to island resorts, it was hard to think of a better place. When it came to our contestants, however, it just brought befuddlement and mild annoyance. The boys, in particular, were marching through a shady spot of forest that seemed to have no end. Or, was that simply because they were walking in circles? As the minutes flew by, it was becoming increasingly difficult to tell.

"Are you having any luck with that map?" Kyle asked, swatting at a fly that seemed to perpetually harass the group of boys. "Or, any idea where we are, at least?"

Leon frowned, grumbling to himself a bit as he squinted at the map, adjusting it in his hands. Holding it upside down, then on its side, then directly toward his face. "I'm having a bit of trouble, actually! There's nothing on this map telling us where to go! Here, maybe you can make some sense of it?"

Kyle nodded, taking the map and inspecting it. "Hm... well, there's the whale here," he remarked, pointing to the left of the map. There, just off the coast, was a sketch of the beast that had greeted them on the way in, albeit much friendlier looking in nature. "So, unless the map is lying, we started right... there. So I think we'd be somewhere here."  
He moved his finger into the forest, represented by a large, undefined blob of green.

"That's nice n' all, but it'd sure help to know where we're going," Andy remarked, peering over Kyle's shoulder. He shifted his skateboard over to his other arm, beginning to tire of lugging the thing around.  
"I mean, what good is a map if nothing is marked?" He continued, "Unless... wait. Do you think Chris gave us that just to mess with us?"

Kyle was silent a moment, before letting out a groan, shoulders slumping. "Oh, he totally did, didn't he?"

He held the map out back to Leon; though, it ended up being Peter who grabbed it, snatching it away quickly and holding it to his face. "Hmmm..." he adjusted his glasses, eyes pouring over the sheet of paper. "... Hmph. Well, I thought I'd be able to help. But I'm not a miracle worker, Chris really did just give us a blank map."

"Well, hey! Maybe he meant to mark it, but he was drawing... a blank!" Simon grinned, only to be meant with rapt silence. "Yeesh. Tough crowd."

Gael shrugged, before turning to Peter. "Would you mind if I took a look?" he asked, extending a hand.

Peter, already seeming to lose interest, obliged, handing it to him. "Go ahead, but I checked it over pret-ty thoroughly."

Gael nodded, carefully taking the map and looking it over, finding nothing. He was about to simply give up on it and hand it off to the next person, when something... curious happened. By chance, he took a step out of the shade, and into the sunlight. Just as he was about to look away, the map changed for a split second, images appearing in the woods... then fading away as he stepped back into the shade. Gael froze. He stared back at the map, everything gone. Thinking quickly, he stepped back into the sunlight.  
"Guys... come take a look at this."

"What's up?" Andy peered over curiously, the rest of the boys beginning to gather around the map. Gael squinted at it, before holding it up to the sunlight. Sure enough, as the paper caught rays of light, different markings began to appear on the map. One of them indicated the beach, where they arrived, along with a small trail for them to follow, leading them to what looked like a tiny, cheerful cartoon wolf.

"Ahh, invisible ink!" Adam grinned. "This is like something out of an Indiana Jones movie! All we have to do is get back on our path and find where this wolf is!"

"You say that like wolves and reality television are a good mix," Ash mused, gripping his cane. "But I figure they have to wait at least a couple of episodes before they let one or two of us get horribly maimed, right?"

"Wait... you don't think there will actually _be _real wolves, do you?" Aaron asked, a bit nervously. He looked up at the rest of the group, fidgeting slightly.

"I'm sure we'll be fine!" Kyle told him, giving him a reassuring pat on the back- before adding, jokingly, "But just in case, any advice for wolf mauling, Ash?"

"Oh, of course! First thing you have have to know about getting attacked by a wolf is... don't," Ash chuckled, the group beginning to move forward.

Gael handed the map back to Leon, who happily took point again, the mood beginning to pick up now that they were finally on the right track.  
"Don't worry about it, Aaron!" Leon assured the young boy, turning to glance back at him. "I'm sure it's nothing! Besides, we better hurry, right? No telling how far ahead the girls have gotten!"

* * *

"So let me get this straight. We've been walking for like an hour, and _no one_ has figured out this map yet?" Mitsy let out an exasperated sigh, rubbing her temples. "Great. First challenge here, and we're going to blow it."

Miriam rolled her eyes, now being the holder of the map after she had snatched it from Mitsy, who had taken it from Stephanie in the first place. She glanced back at Mitsy, not amused by her attitude- or their predicament. "We might have gone somewhere if you hadn't hogged the map for like an hour."

The fashionista merely stuck up her nose. "Well, I didn't see anyone _else _coming forward with a solution. If you want something done right-"

"Don't get _you_ to do it," Miriam interrupted with a smirk, looking back at the map in front of her. Mitsy opened her mouth to say something, eyes narrowing, but luckily Maya stepped between the two before another verbal joust- literally.

"Aw, c'mon. Really that hard to read a map?" the cowgirl asked, taking it from Miriam before the girl could protest. "Leave it to me! Sometimes maps are all you've got to go off of in the country. Especially when you don't have internet or G... PS..."  
Her confidence turned to confusion as she eyed the paper over, quickly slumping her shoulders and giving up.  
"Yeah, second thought, don't leave it to me." She thrust the paper back into Miriam's hands, shaking her head. "That map is totally empty!"

Felicity walked at the back of the group at a brisk pace, head tilted to her side as she racked her head for ideas.  
"Well... what if its a puzzle?" she suggested, speeding up a bit to catch up to Miriam. "Or, what if they wrote it in invisible ink?" Felicity's eyes lit up a bit, a smile crossing her face. She was almost sure that was the solution, what else was there?  
"I've read all sorts of stories where messengers use invisible ink," she continued. "And that seems like something Chris would do, right?"

There was a long pause, before Maya shook her head. "...nah, he would have given us some clue about that, right? Besides, how are we supposed to see invisible ink all the way out here in the woods?"

"Well... I guess not," Felicity sighed, a few of the girls murmuring their agreement with Maya. Felicity let herself fall to the back of the group, next to Ingrid.

"I thought it was a pretty good idea," Ingrid told her- though, Felicity couldn't really tell at first, Ingrid not actually making eye contact. "...did you know invisible ink was first used by the Greeks and the Romans?"

"Oh, thanks!" Felicity nodded, giving her a smile. "That's pretty interesting! You know lot's of cool facts, huh? Are you a big reader? I love reading, especially Shakespeare!"

"Um, sort of," Ingrid shoved, kicking the dirt a little. "I just learn that stuff from reading... well, I guess its not important, anyway."

Ingrid stopped talking when she noticed Shelbi crawl past her on all fours, nose to the ground as she sniffed along a trail. She paused, lifting her nose to the air and taking a few big sniffs, keenly scanning her surroundings for... something.

"Uh, you alright there?" Maxine asked, scratching her head. "If you smell something, THAT one wasn't me this time-"

"Smoke," the wolf girl cut her off, "Shelbi smells smoke!"

"Smoke?" Maxine repeated, not really understanding her meaning. She glanced around, sniffing the air. "I don't smell any smoke!"

"It's that way!" Shelbi insisted, pointing a bit to the left of the group. "We should follow it- trust Shelbi?"

"Follow wha-" Miriam began, but before she could finish, Shelbi took off into the woods, bounding on all fours. "Shelbi?!"

"Well, that's horrifying to watch," Mitsy remarked, a bit horrified watching the girl scuttle off like an animal.

"Aw, come on. Better to take a chance than run in circles, right?" Stephanie asked with a smile. "I say we follow her!"  
Before an argument, or even a discussion could be had, Stephanie took off after Shelbi. "Hang on, wait for me!" she yelled after her.

"Well... might as well stick together right?" Maya smiled, following after the two. Grumbling, Mitsy followed behind, the rest of the girls following suit.

"Smoke... I hope its not a forest fire," Rosella murmured, beginning to pick up her pace after the other girls.

The forest seemed to stretch on and on, with nothing of note. After what seemed to be an eternity of stumbling through the forest, the group finally came across a clearing- and in it, something curious. On one side was a colorful little shack, made of wood, with dirty arched windows and a cobblestone chimney from which they could see plumes of smoke. A few yards away was a cave, though this was barred off by chains. But, to top it all off were the dwarfs; seven of them, all with simple leather shirts and pants, coated with a bit of soot, and almost menacing expressions on their faces. Their lips were stretched into grins, thought their eyes almost seemed to hold a kind of malicious intent, glaring at the competitors as they approached. They were only statues, though, remaining still despite how... detailed they were.

"Oh. That's horrifyin'," Maya gulped, walking up to one of the dwarfs, waving her hand in front of its face. "But that explains the smoke Shelbi was smellin'!"

"Uh huh. Shelbi told you!" she smiled proudly, sitting by the house. "...though Shelbi doesn't know if this was where we were supposed to go."

"I don't know. I kind of like them," Ingrid said, examining another dwarf. "They're kind of a creepy take on Snow White."

"Well, this is a theme park right?" Stephanie asked. "I bet this is their take on her! I don't see Snow White anywhere, though..."

"Hm... what about the cave?" Miriam suggest, looking over at it. "Anything over there?"

"Lemme check!" Stephanie offered, jogging over. She paused once there, noting a sign stuck in the ground just to the left of the entrance.

_"Gemstone Caverns. Keep out!" _the sign read. _"No, seriously. Looking at you, random contestant. Don't go in here yet. -Chris"_

"Nope!" Stephanie called. "Not supposed to go in here yet!"

"Oh, found something!" Rosella called.  
Rosella was stood in front of one of the statues, when she had noticed a roll of paper clenched in its hand: one not attached to the statue itself. Rosella smiled faintly, reaching for the paper. As soon as she pulled it loose, a voice box crackled on from the statue, causing her to let out a startled "eep!" and nearly fall back.

_"__Willkommen in der mine!"_ the statue garbled out, its gruff voice muffled by static._ "Halte dich von unseren Edelsteinen fern, du kleine Göre."_

"You okay, Rosella?" Stephanie asked, hurrying over to her. "These things talk? That's so freaky!"

"I-I'm fine!" Rosella nodded, shivering a bit. "Just a little startled... but I think I found something. Here."

She handed the paper to Stephanie, who unraveled it. She scanned it a moment, eyes immediately lighting up.  
"Guys!" she called. "This is it! Another map- this one has a clear path to the resort!"

"Awesome!" Maya grinned. "C'mon, let's go- maybe we can still beat the boys!"

"Follow me!" Stephanie cheered, holding the map up, and running off. Her team followed behind, and for the first time since they had set out, their energy was completely renewed.

* * *

"Okay... looks like we go a little further... and... here! Ha-ha, we did it!"  
Leon grinned as he lowered the map, the boys having arrived at their destination. It had taken them a few minutes to get back on course, but once they had, it was a simple feat to follow the trail laid out for them. Though where it led was a bit odd. Not on first glance, mind you. It was simply a wide open space with plenty of tables and chairs, with a food stall nearby, perfecting for sitting and having a snack. But therein was the problem; the food stall itself. Simply called "_Pig Out"_, the stall was adorned with various photos, all of pork based meals. Inside, however, was a lifeless animatronic wolf. Its mouth was pulled back into a huge, toothy grin, an apron covering its fur, which was falling off in clumps. On its head sat a chef's hat, all topped off by a spatula clutched in its hand.

"Wait... so if this is all fairy tales... is that wolf supposed to be serving the three little pigs?" Aaron asked, jaw dropping slightly, unable to believe someone would come up with something so warped for a resort.

"Golly gee, that's dark," Ash mused, taking a step up to the stall and examining it. "But that definitely is the wolf on the map."

"Huh. Guess the pigs should have watched their bacon," Simon giggled to himself.

"But the map did say to come here. No mistaking it," Peter agreed. "Hmm... anything on the Wolf itself?"

"Hm... yup," Ash nodded. "Come look at this, right in its mouth."

The boys stepped up to the stall, it becoming immediately clear what Ash was talking about. Rolled up and crammed into the wolf's mouth was another map, guarded by gleaming, yellowed teeth.

"Eww. Man... gross," Andy shuddered, looking it over. "I guess one of us has to reach in there and grab it, huh?"

"Don't worry! I volunteer!" Leon offered, reaching forward, only for Ash to shake his head.

"Knowing Chris, wouldn't chance it," Ash said. "Here. Let me."  
He raised his cane, and with a quick motion, slid it into the wolf's mouth, right into the rolled up map. He slowly pulled it out, tilting his cane down, toward Leon. The map slid off into his hands, a grin cracking across his face.

"Ah, good thinking!" Leon smiled, clutching the map. He eagerly opened it, eyes pouring over the sheet of paper. "...great news! The building we're looking for is just north of here, according to this!"

"Awesome!" Andy smiled, beginning to walk forward. "Then we just gotta head... this way, right? Let's get going!"

* * *

**CONFESSIONAL: ANDY**

_You know, so far Total Drama doesn't seem that bad! Sure, there's a lot of walking in circles, and my skateboard carrying arm is getting tired, but the guys seem cool, and this challenge hasn't been so bad! Come on, how tough can it get?_

**END CONFESSIONAL**

* * *

"Hmmmm." Chris checked his watch, tapping his foot a bit as he absently sipped on a thermos of coffee. "What in the world is taking these kids so long?"  
The host was stood in front of the actually resort they'd be staying in. There were four buildings; one for the cast and crew, one for the male competitors, one for the female, and between it all was a fancy looking restaurant. Or, it seemed so from the outside. But the inside was going to have to wait until the cast actually arrived. He glanced over at the Franz statue next to him- the things were all over, unfortunately. He hadn't heard one speak since the initial introduction, but he could feel it... watching him. Of course, that could have just been the cameras that were everywhere, but Chris wasn't so sure.

"Guys, its up ahead!" a voice called from the distance.

Chris looked over just in time to see the girls arrive, a few cheering when they saw they had been first.

"We did it! Alright!" Maya hollered, "We beat the boys here!"

"Nice! Don't leave me hanging!" Stephanie smirked, holding up her hand- the two high fiving as some of the other girls cheered.

"Hey, hey hey! Knock off the celebrating!" Chris scolded. "You still made me wait here like, an hour!"

"Yeah, but we won!" Stephanie shot back. "Why shouldn't we celebrate a little?"

"Because that's only part one of the challenge, remember?" Chris smirked, leaning in and flicking her nose. "The day's still not over!"

The group heard heavy footfalls behind them, accompanied by the snapping of twigs. They all turned, watching as the boys ran up, disappointment etched on their faces.

"Aw... we lost?" Kahlin sighed.

"That's disappointing," Gael murmured, arms crossed.

"Yup! And I'm sure your family and friends are just as disappointed in you as you are!" Chris mocked, his grin smug. "But, don't worry too much right now. Like I just got done telling the winners over here- i.e., not you guys- that's only the first half of the challenge. So, the girls will get an advantage going into the second half. _That _said, you can still pull out a win, _if _you try hard enough."

"Alright, so hurry up already! What's the second challenge?" Stephanie asked, hopping up and down a bit, eager to get things started.

"Nah, not so fast." The host waved his hand dismissively. "First I have to show you-"

"What you're fighting for!" Franz interrupted, the statue cracking to life.

Chris rolled his eyes. "Oh, _now _you're speaking."

"Well, better let the one who knows what he's doing do the talking, right?" Franz snickered. "Anyway, Chris will have to show you around, but see those buildings up ahead? Those'll be your lodgings for this season. The team who wins the second part of today's challenge chooses which lodging they'll be staying in. You can either have the _Grand_ _Ferret _suite, which has luxury beds, a hot tub, work out center, and complimentary mints. Or, you can have the _Hob and Jill_, which has none of those things, and a roach problem we forgot to deal with. The winning team ALSO gets a bonfire party tonight, which has free catering!... kidding. It has marshmallows. You just sit around and toast marshmallows. Which I'd take over hanging out in the cold with a bunch of bugs. Chris, why don't you take over?"

Chris sighed, shoulders slumping. "Wayyy to steal my thunder. Fiiiine, come on campers. I'll show you around," he said, walking them toward the buildings.

First off was the Hob and Jill room- a small cabin close to the woods. It looked like it was barely holding together, the door nearly swinging off its hinge when Chris opened it. "Well, here we are," he said, gesturing to the inside. "Man I'd hate to be whoever has to stay in here!"  
The inside wasn't much better. In fact, it looked almost unfinished, with nails sticking out of floorboards, the beds completely bare of sheets and resting on rusted frames.

"Are we sure _people_ are supposed to sleep here?" Mitsy asked, grimacing as a roach scuttled past. "I've seen animal kennels that look more humane!"

"Pfft. Scared of roughin' it a little?" Maya teased, elbowing Mitsy.

"_Some _of us are more worried about beauty sleep more than others," Mitsy replied casually, crossing her arms. "But it doesn't _matter_, because we won't be staying here. Right girls?"

"First thing we agree on all day," Miriam nodded. "Why don't you show us the other rooms, Chris?"

"Will do. This-a-way!" The host said, waving his arm.

The Grand Ferret suite was completely the polar opposite of the Hob and Jill just by looking. Even from the outside, it appeared much more lavish, the wood sanded and polished, windows opened and cleaned. Chris pulled the door open, and the contestants gasped. Inside were full sized mattresses, sheets neatly tucked in. Peering inside, they could see down a winding hallway, doors leading to the different rooms Franz had mentioned.

"Even the VIP suite is a bit small," Chris explained. "Apparently, this place was abandoned before like, nintey percent of the guest rooms were completed. But, there was enough for us to get two cabins going."

"Oh man- they weren't kidding about the mints!" Simon smiled, stepping forward to grab one- Chris slapping him on the wrist.

"Mints are for winners!" the host scolded. "And right now, you don't fit that category! Come on, I have one last thing to show you. You guys remember Chef Hatchet right? I bet he _flipped _when he saw the restaurant! Come on, let's go!"

Finally, he led the contestants to the restaurant in the center. The building was tall, with painted white wood and gray roof tiles, with a porch protruding from the entrance. The sign above the door read "_Fairytale Feast_", in an eloquent cursive. Chris pushed the door in, stepping inside.

"Yo, Chef Hatchet! Hows my favorite... Chef?" Chris went silent, confused. The inside of the restaurant was expansive- plenty of well polished oak tables and comfortable looking chairs on either side, with a stature of Franz in the center, surrounded by flowers. A single man was setting all of the tables however... and he was most certainly _not _Chef Hatchet.

"Oh, hon-hon-hon! Greetings, Monsieur McLean!" the man greeted, hurrying over and shaking Chris' hand. He was a tall, gangling man with pale skin, dark black hair covered by a chef's hat, and a ridiculous twirling mustache on his lips. "I have prepared tonight's meal for after ze challenge, just as instructed!"

"...you're not chef," Chris blinked.

"Ahhhh hon-hon-hon! Don't be silly! I am Chef Pierre!" the man laughed, twirling his mustache, his accent bordering on ridiculous. "I was hired by ze wonderful ferret man to take over as head chef for ze season! Hon-hon-hon!"

"Okay, that's a fake accent," Kahlin pointed out.

"W-what?!" Pierre's eyes widened, looking stunned at the accusation. "N-non! Zis is a real French accent! For I am French! So very, very French!"

"Oh, really?" Mitsy asked, crossing her arms. "_Donc tu ne mens pas alors_?"

Pierre stared at her, quiet. "Uh... ah-hon-hon-hon! Anyway, I shall have ze cooking staff start on dinner, at once! Adieu, all of you, a-dieu!"  
With that, the man scurried away into the back, door swinging shut behind him, leaving an either confused or amused cast behind him.

"That guy's replacing Chef?" Chris repeated, shocked. "But... but no one told me that!"

"Aw, do you miss Chef Hatchet?" Simon asked, teasing.

"Shut up, Simon," Chris groaned, rubbing his temples. "Well... okay. This is weird. I need to have a discussion with our producers at some point, but until then, we have a challenge to get to. So, follow me!"

* * *

It was a bit of a walk, but Chris led everyone away from the resort, back into the woods where a large spot was cleared. There stood a slightly elevated, huge round platform. On top of it sat seventeen teacups- large enough for someone to sit in.

"Now, I know what your thinking," Chris said quickly, "and NO, there definitely isn't another park that's done anything like this. But in case there were, we're just gonna go ahead and call this challenge, _Crazy Cups_! You know, because copyright. It's pretty simple. This used to be a ride where you slid around on a track, carefree as the wind. Which is boring. So we reworked it a bit! We tore the cups off the tracks, gave them bumpers, wheels, and more wheels of the steering variety! See, your goal is simple. Each of you will get into a cup, and then, its just like bumper cars! Except in this, you have to try and knock the other contestants off of the platform! Once your cart is knocked off, its been redesigned to give you a shock to let you know you've been eliminated!"

"Um... isn't being knocked off of the platform enough?" Simon asked. "Hard to not realize you've been eliminated after that..."

"Shut up, Simon! But, to answer your question, of course you'd know you've been eliminated!" Chris shrugged. "I just wanted the excuse to electrocute you guys!"

* * *

**CONFESSIONAL: ANDY**

_Yeah, I take it back, Chris is awful._

**CONFESSIONAL: STEPHANIE**

_Alright! Now we're finally on to something fun!_

**CONFESSIONAL: MIRIAM**

_Bumper cars? Really? That seems a little silly- but no way I'm staying in that run down shack. The girls have to pull through._

**END CONFESSIONALS**

* * *

"Wait... but there's only seventeen carts," Peter noted, "and eighteen of us!"

"Exactly!" Chris nodded. "That's where the advantage comes in! The girls will get to take all nine of their team into the bumper carts, but because they won the advantage, they get to pick one of you to sit out! So, ladies. Who is it gonna be?"

The boys all groaned, the girls quickly huddling up.

"Alright, one of them has to sit out. Who's it gonna be?" Stephanie whispered.

"I don't know. They all seem nice to me," Rosella murmured, looking over at the group.

"Ah, hush. This is a contest!" Maya said, nudging her. "I think we should sit out that Leon guy. He seems like he's leading the group so far, and he's pretty big."

"What about Peter?" Miriam suggested. "He looks smart enough. Maybe we should take him out of the challenge just in case."

Stephanie shook her head. "I dunno. I think Maya has a point. If he's leading them, I'd rather take out Leon."

"Makes sense to me," Mitsy shrugged.

Miriam sighed. "If you're sure."

The girls turned back to Chris, Stephanie speaking. "We've decided we're sitting out Leon!"

"Me? Hmm..." Leon's shoulders slumped. "Sorry I won't be able to help, friends."

"Oh, don't worry about it," Kyle told him. "I'm sure we'll be fine!"

"Well, there it is! Leon, to the bench!" Chris ordered, pointing.

Leon looked over, puzzled. "...but there's no bench, there."

"Oh. Well, just go sit in the dirt, or something," Chris shrugged. "Rest of you, to your carts!"

Shelbi climbed up on to the platform, eyeing one of the cups warily. "Um, Shelbi hasn't actually driven one of these before... or, driven anything before."

"Uh, I'm not used to it either," Felicity remarked, climbing up hesitantly. "But it should be fine, right?"

Peter watched the two, before waving for the rest of the guys to come over. "Guys, come here! I know how we can win this!"

"Hm? What's up?" Andy asked, the boys leaning in and listening carefully.

"All we have to do is get back our numbers advantage," Peter whispered. "I just heard Shelbi and Felicity say they don't have experience driving. So just rush them and catch them off guard! If we knock them out first, it'll be eight to seven, and we'll have a much better chance!"

"Huh... that's not a bad idea at all!" Kyle agreed.

Peter nodded. "I know! Then, we just team up on the others. If two of us go for one person at a time, we can isolate them and knock them all off!"

"Hm... I suppose that isn't bad thinking," Aaron nodded, putting a hand on his chin.

* * *

**CONFESSIONAL: PETER**

_You know, I love solving problems. Math problems, I mean! You might not think it, but almost everything around you can be looked at as numbers, or an equation. We're outnumbered in bumper cars, so what do we do? We just have to subtract the other number a bit. Heh-heh. That's how I get by; equation solving._

**END CONFESSIONAL**

* * *

Soon enough, everyone had climbed into their carts.

"All ready?" Chris asked. "Alright then! Ready... set... and GO!"

The cups then spun into motion- literally. The cups swung around, moving a bit awkwardly, a few of the contestants immediately colliding with each other. Shelbi stared at her steering wheel, a bit puzzled, when Peter slammed into her, knocking her off the platform. The girl's cup gave her a shock, Shelbi letting out a surprised howl in response.  
Across the platform, Felicity was taking it slow, trying to get used to the controls, when Kyle rammed her, startling her.

"Oof! Hey!" She blinked, turning around to see who had hit her, only for Kyle to back up, and press on the gas again, knocking her off. Felicity hit the ground with a thud, rubbing her head, nearly jolting out of her chair as she was given a shock.

"Sorry!" Kyle called, waving at her. "Nothing personal!"

Before he could turn back, though, another cup slammed into his, pushing him right off the platform before he had time to react. He winced as he hit the ground, and again as a jolt traveled through his body, looking up to Maxine staring down at him, triumphant.

"Woo! Did it!" Maxine cheered, backing up. "C'mon girls, I'm hungry! Let's make this quick!"  
She pulled back, looking for someone else to hit, only for Andy to slam into her from the side.

"Don't worry Kyle, I'll avenge you!" Andy called, joking, trying to push Maxine off.

"Trying to push me off, huh?" Maxine smiled, backing up against Andy, trying to push him off. "Looks like I'm a little heavy for you to move- woah!"

Her smile faded when Simon hit her from another angle, knocking her away from Andy and off of the platform. "Weirdest game of sumo wrestling ever!" he quipped, turning and heading back into the center of the platform.

"What the- how are they winnin'?" Maya asked, startled at how quickly the boys had taken the lead despite their disadvantage. She scanned around for someone to eliminate- eyes quickly finding Aaron, who seemed to hang a bit further back from the others, avoiding everyone else. Smirking to herself, she slammed on the gas, Aaron only turning to see her when it was too late. The cowgirl quickly made impact, hard enough to launch him off of the platform. "Woo! Got him!" she grinned, holding up a fist triumphantly, smile faltering when Ash hit her from behind, knocking her off the platform, her hat falling off.

"Sorry!" Ash called, waving at her, "Gotta win it for those free mints, right?"

Maya growled, spasming as she was electrocuted, before grabbing her hat. She slammed it back on her head, dusting herself off, and shaking a fist at him. "You're just lucky you're good lookin'!" she huffed, climbing out of the teacup.

"They're doubling up on people!" Miriam yelled to her teammates. "We can still win this, get it together guys!"

"I'm _trying_ to!" Mitsy snapped, glaring at Adam, the two ramming their carts into each other.

"Go ahead," Adam frowned, trying to push Mitsy off of the edge. "Make my day!"

After struggling for a bit, Adam managed to push Mitsy off. The girl let out a groan of frustration, then a yelp as she was shocked. "Stupid... lousy thing!" she huffed, climbing out and delivering a kick to the side of the cup- only to be shocked again.

Adam didn't have too much time to celebrate, however, Miriam having watched the exchange- and driving up and bumping him off the edge as soon as Mitsy was gone.

"You could have helped me at any time," Mitsy scolded, hands on her hips.

"Oh, did you need help?" Miriam smirked. "Didn't notice~"

Across the ring, Stephanie was chasing after Peter, the meek young man having failed to eliminate her.

"Um, guys! Could use some help!" he called, trying to swerve and avoid the jock, only for her to be able to intercept and knock him off as he was making a turn.

"Ha! Gotcha!" Stephanie said proudly, not making the mistake of sticking around to gloat.

Peter scowled, dusting himself off and looking up at the platform. Things were tied up, but his plan had steered them right so far...

* * *

**CONFESSIONAL: PETER**

_So it wasn't quite the clean sweep I was hoping. That's fine. That's okay. Sometimes you mistakes in math. But we're still in the game, for now. If they had just stuck to the plan..._

**END CONFESSIONAL**

* * *

Back on the platform, things had evened up, the contestants being four to four. The girls had blown their lead- but, so too had the boys, and the game was anyone's at this point. Rosella drove a bit nervously, not exactly one for aggression... though this came back to bite her when Gael hit her from the side, knocking her off of the platform.

"Four-three for the boys!" Chris called. "It's close, but can the girls pick up the rebound?"

"Hey- are you alright?" Aaron asked Rosella, being near the spot where she fell.

"Um... I think I'm fine," Rosella frowned, climbing out of her tea cup. "My wrist hurts a little, though..."

"Oh. Um... maybe you should have one of the interns take a look at that," Aaron suggested, looking away- not exactly sure how to help her. Or, used to talking with people in general. "But I'm sure its fine..."

Rosella stared at him as he slowly shuffled away, a smile forming on her face.

* * *

**CONFESSIONAL: ROSELLA**

_Oh... did you see how concerned he was? You could tell, he cares so much for others! So much kindness in his heart. I can see it behind those eyes... he'd make a wonderful husband some day._

**END CONFESSIONAL**

* * *

"Okay guys, we still got this!" Stephanie called, evading Andy's cart. "We just gotta be careful!"

"Uh, I don't know about- woah!" Ingrid's eyes widened as she noticed Ash and Simon rush her at the same time, pushing her off of the platform with easy. The goth girl shook her head as she gathered herself, bouncing up in her seat as she was zapped.

"Oh my goodness! Are you okay?" Felicity asked, rushing over to her, extending her hands to help Ingrid out of her cart.

"I'm okay," Ingrid nod, letting Felicity help lift her up. "It takes one hundred and twenty volts to kill you, anyway."

Then, there were two. The only girls left on the platform were Miriam and Stephanie, the two glancing around nervously, realizing they were badly outnumbered.

"Okay, just keep cool!" Stephanie called to Miriam. "We can STILL win this, probably! We just have to be careful and-"

"Rush 'em!" Andy yelled.

"Wait, what?" Stephanie blinked. The answer became immediately obvious, two cups rushing for each girls. Miriam was shoved off immediately by Andy and Simon. Stephanie managed to evade Ash, but was quickly pushed over the edge by Gael, who had been lurking nearby.

"And the boys win the challenge!" Chris announced as the two girls were unceremoniously tossed overboard. "With half their teammates remaining, too! Well guys, as a reward, you get to pick where you'll be staying for the rest of the season! Or, as long as you last before being kicked off, right?"

The boys all cheered, high-fiving and throwing their fists in the air, as the girls grumbled and groaned, muttering to themselves and glaring at the competition.

"Ha, see! You guys didn't need me after all!" Leon laughed.

"Well, at least it wasn't an elimination challenge, right?" Felicity smiled, looking around at the other girls. "Maybe we won't get the cabin we want, but at least we're all still here?"

"Well, thank golly for small miracles, I guess," Maya sighed.

"So boys, what's it gonna be?" Chris asked, the group beginning to form up. "Are you gonna be roughin' toughin' it in the Hob and Jill, or living the luxurious life of the Grand Ferret?"

"Chris, I think I speak for everyone when I say... Grand Ferret!" Kyle grinned, the rest of the boys cheering.

"Grand Ferret it is! Which means, girls, you get to stay in the Hob and Jill!" Chris snickered. "For as long as you're on the island, anyway! Or, until the cabin collapses. You know, whichever comes first! But, you'll have time to get settled in later. For now... time to enjoy your first dinner!"

* * *

It was a brisk walk back to the dining room, and spirits were high... for the boys at least.

"To winning our first real challenge on Total Drama!" Kyle cheered, holding up his glass.

"And living it up in our sweet digs!" Andy added, grinning as they clinked their drinks together, the rest of the table following suit, even Gael managing to smile a bit.

The girls, however, were not as thrilled, the table mostly silent, except for Maxine, eagerly chowing down on whatever food was placed in front of her.

"Ugh. Do you _have _to scarf it all down like that?" Mitsy asked, rolling her eyes.

"Sorry- competitive eater, remember?" Maxine chuckled, patting her stomach. "Eat to win and win to eat!"  
She let out a loud belch, giggling. "'scuse me!"

"This is going to be a long season," Mitsy sighed, covering her face with her hands.

"Yes! Yes it will be!" Chris agreed, appearing from seemingly nowhere.

"Were you lurking the whole time?" Miriam asked, jumping a little, no one having seen him enter.

"Nah. When you host reality TV, you get good at making surprise entrances," Chris smiled proudly.

"Meh. Shelbi smelt him from a mile away," the feral girl shrugged, going back to eating out of her bowl... on the floor.

"Ahem. Gonna ignore that." Chris glared at Shelbi, eyebrows furrowing. "I just came here to say, boys, your bonfire is ready and waiting once you're done eating. Girls, your cabin is not ready, but uh, you're just gonna have to get used to it!"  
Chris snickered to himself, no one else amused with his joke.

"Alright! C'mon guys, looks like the party is this-a-way," Andy said, getting up from the table, everyone beginning to head for the door.

"Oh, but don't stay up too late! You have to be up bright and early for your challenge tomorrow!" Chris called after them.

"Another one? So soon?" Felicity asked, tilting her head.

"Yeeeep. And this one is even more important than tonight's. Tomorrow... you'll all be competing in a free for all to see who gets to be team captains!" Chris grinned, wringing his hands together. "I can't _wait_! You heard it here first, folks! The girls are feeling the cold sting of defeat, but will they be able to bounce back fro-"

"Um, what are you doing?" Ingrid stared up at him, confused.

"Don't interrupt meee!" Chris whined. "I'm doing the sign-off!"

Just then, there was a crackle over the intercoms... a familiar voice speaking up.  
"Pfft. That's nothing. Let the pro handle it, Chris," Franz mocked. "The girls are feeling the burn, but things are still heating up! Eighteen campers, but only two can walk out as captain! This is the most important decision they'll have to make all season. Who'll come out on top? This is just the beginning, folks. Find out what happens next time, on...

Total!

Drama!

Loooooooost Islaaaand!"

With that, the speaker died, Chris looking dumbstruck.

"But... that's my thing!"

* * *

(A/N: Well, there it is! Hope you guys aren't disappointed by the slow burn. Next episode will be to fight for the position of team captains- who do you think will take charge? You might be hoping for an elimination, but I opted to take it a bit slow- just to let you get to really know everyone before I start giving people the ax. I mean, if someone goes on episode one, you don't really get to know them, so its generally not a big deal. Anyway! I had hoped to have this up just a little bit sooner, but my weekend was kinda trashed at the last moment. Ended up having to help a friend move- not fun stuff. Anyway, the plan right now is to go about twenty episodes- unless I end up having to do another two parter- and I'm going to try and upload once a week at minimum, but absolutely I'll try for more if I can. I also threw up a little poll on my profile. Not related to the fic directly, I was just rewatching a lot of total drama while brainstorming, and I got curious about something. Would love to hear your thoughts! Anyway, that's about it from me this time. See you soon!)


	5. Episode 3: Shine on Crazy Diamond Pt 1

An hour or so had passed since dinner, and the boys were sitting around a roaring campfire, enjoying their reward.

"-and _that _nearly got me suspended. Stopped bringing my board to school after that," Andy smiled as he finished up his story. "Shame, too, 'cause the nearest skatepark is like, on the other side of town. I really miss that parking lot."

"Oh, kind of a troublemaker, huh?" Adam teased. He placed a marshmallow on the end of a branch he had found, holding it out to the fire. "Well, hey. If you win, maybe you can open your own skatepark."

"Troublemaker? Nah." Andy shook his head, chuckling a bit. He frowned as his own marshmallow was engulfed in flame, pulling it out of the fire and blowing on it, though not fast enough to save it from becoming a blackened crisp.  
"Aw, man..." he sighed. "But, nah. Well, not any more than any other highschooler, I guess. Though, my own skatepark does sound pretty nice... I always thought I'd open up a skate shop if I won the money. Well, that, and travel."

"Skate shop, huh?" Kyle glanced over, stroking his chin. "That sounds fun. My family owns a toy shop, so I always kind of figured I'd use the money to help out with that."

"Wellll, million dollars _would _get you a lot of toys," Andy agreed. "What about you, Adam? What would you do with the money?"

"Easy," Adam smiled. "Buy my own house, fill it with tonnnnns of movie merchandise! Maybe I could even afford my own private theater."

"Yeah, had you pegged for a film buff. You know, 'cause of the clothing and movie references," Andy teased.

"Well, my grandpa introduced me to them. He owns a theater in my town- in the mall," Adam explained. "I was actually staying with him before I came here, but... well, long story short, my parents are making me move out unless I can last three challenges."

"Oh, man. That's rough." Andy frowned, shaking his head. "But you're doing good so far, right?"

"Yeah, I think I can make it!" Adam nodded. "I came here for an adventure anyway- doing this proves I can make my own decisions. It's like my own sort of movie!"

"A TV movie," Simon reminded him. "Me personally, I think I'd just donate most of it to charity. But I guess everyone says that _before _they get the money, huh?"

"Not at all! I'd do the same, with most of it anyway," Leon grinned. "Half to charity, half to help me with my MMA career!"

"You're in MMA?" Peter asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes!" Leon puffed out his chest proudly, throwing a few jabs out to the air. "Well... I'm not pro, yet. But I plan to get there soon! That's why I joined Total Drama. To get stronger! If I can make it here, I'll make it pro, too!"

"Oh, I wish I could say I was here for something that interesting." Peter gave a meek smile. "I don't think I have a good shot at winning against you guys... but, if I did, I'd love to use that money for college someday."

"Ah, don't sell yourself short, friend!" Leon gave Peter a few unintentionally forceful pats on the back. "I'm sure you'll do fine with that wit of yours, huh?"

"Thank you. I hope you're right," Peter said, smiling back.

"College, huh?" Ash chimed in. "Same here. Med school isn't cheap, unfortunately."

"Oh yeah. You're gonna be a doctor, right?" Andy asked, looking over at him. "That's pretty cool."

"Eh. Sports Medicine," Ash shrugged. "It's a lot of basic first aid and stuff now, but I'm aiming for an athletic trainer of physician."

"Oh? Does your cane have something to do with that?" Peter asked, eyeing the cane over as it leaned on the log Ash sat on.

Ash was hesitant. "...sssssort of. That's a story for another time."

"Whaaaat? Come on. Here we are spilling our guts out," Simon scoffed playfully. "Adam gave his story, Kyle gave his, you can't do that to us!"

Ash shook his head. "I'll tell you another time. It's really not that interesting."  
Ash looked away, noticing Gael shuffling off by himself as he did so. "Hey, where are you headed, Gael? You haven't spoken much all evening. Why not come join us?"

Gael stopped, his attempt to sneak away thwarted. He turned, raising a hand to the group, and shaking his head. "Oh, that's okay," he said. "I'm headed off to bed a little early. Don't worry about me."

"If you're sure..." Ash waved back. "Night, then."

Gael gave one more quick wave, before disappearing down toward the resort. Simon popped a marshmallow into his mouth, uncooked, before turning to Aaron; the only other person to be notably silent all evening.

"So, what about you then?" Simon asked, mouth full of marshmallow. "C'mon, fess up, Aaron. You're the only other person who hasn't said anything. Chris said you're some kinda royalty or something?"

"What?" Aaron's eyes widened a bit, shocked both at being called on, and at the accusation of being royalty. "N-no! Nothing like that! My dad just... he's just in charge of a business back home in Germany. It's just a small one, really. Not even a big deal."  
Aaron looked away, eager to change subjects.

"Aww. Here I was hoping you were the son of a mob boss or something," Simon sighed wistfully, eating another marshmallow. "Ohh, or a deposed royal, those're pretty cool too! So what business is it?"

Aaron fidgeted a bit, looking even more uncomfortable than before. Picking up on this, Ash cleared his throat. "You know guys, maybe we should call it a night, too," he suggested, standing up. "Gael had kind of a point. Challenge tomorrow morning, right?"

"Yeah, maybe you're right," Andy admitted, standing up and yawning. "Still... this was fun though. Maybe we should do it again, even without a reward. Like a bro-bonfire or something," he joked.

"Sure. I'm down," Kyle agreed, with a nod.

"That sounds fun. Maybe a weekend thing," Ash smiled.

"Its settled, then. Weekly bro-bonfires it is!" Andy turned toward the resort, stifling another yawn. "But... time to go crash now, yeah."

The boys began to pack up, finishing their snacks and starting to head toward their lodge. As they did, though, Aaron was stopped by a hand on his shoulder. He let out a startled yelp, turning around to see who it was; Rosella.

"I'm sorry. Did I startle you?" she asked, pulling her hand away, tone low and apologetic.

"Um... a little bit." Aaron frowned, rubbing the back of his neck. "Um, I think only the boys are supposed to be here..."

"Oh, I know! I wasn't trying to intrude on your party," Rosella assured him, before presenting him with a folded up paper towel.

"Thanks?" Aaron took it, uncertainly. He held it in his hand, Rosella giving him an encouraging smile and a nod. He unfolded it, revealing a few cookies from that night's dinner had been tucked inside.

"A few of the girls didn't want theirs," Rosella told him, waiting for a reaction. "I didn't eat mine, either... I just wanted to repay you for the kindness you showed me, earlier."

"Kindness?" Aaron stared at her, a bit confused. He wasn't quite sure what she was talking about, at first. Then he remembered their encounter during the challenge earlier that night. "Oh, right. That wasn't really a big deal. I was just trying to help out."

"I know you see it that way. But... I just want you to know what it meant to me. I'll let you go back to your cabin, now. I don't want to keep you from a good night's rest." Rosella bowed slightly, before turning, and hurrying off. "Good night, Aaron!" she called, quickly vanishing into the woods.

"Good...night," Aaron called back, perplexed.

"Ah, already hitting it off with the ladies, eh?" Leon asked.

Aaron spun around, surprised; he thought everyone had left by that point. "You saw that?"

"I did! You must be quite the charmer to have a girl doting after you already, eh?" Leon walked up, nudging him playfully with his elbow.

"Not really." Aaron shook his head, glancing over to the spot Rosella had disappeared. "I really don't know what all the fuss is about..."

* * *

**CONFESSIONAL: ROSELLA**

_Aaron is so kind and considerate... and so humble. I bet he'll grow into a wonderful man. I just... hope he sees me like I see him. I wonder if I brought him the right cookies, or if he even likes them? Maybe I should have baked them myself. I wonder if chef Pierre would allow me in his kitchen..._

**CONFESSIONAL: AARON**

_I'm not really sure what to say about Rosella... she's... um, w-well, really not my type. A-at all, but... she seems nice enough. I'm sure she's not that into me, anyway. Maybe she just wants to be friends?_

**END CONFESSIONALS**

* * *

Things were quiet at the resort that next morning. Birds chirped peacefully as the sun rose over over the lake, shining over the water with beautiful hues of orange and red. It was tranquil- blissful, even. The sort of morning even the most reclusive of shut-ins could appreciate. The campers slept peacefully through, the boys in their luxury beds, and the girls in their... well, you could call them beds, at least, enjoying a reprieve from the excitement of the previous day.  
So of course, no one should have been surprised when "_Boogie Wonderland_" suddenly kicked on from the PA speakers at a deafening volume, ripping everyone from their sleep.

"_What the-_" Stephanie yelped, scrambling around and falling out of bed, hitting the floor with a loud thump.

Ingrid let out a scream, startled as she bolted upright, Shelbi poking her head out from under Mitsy's bed and beginning to bark and howl. Felicity pulled her covers over her head, closing her eyes and covering her ears, shaking a little.

"Will somebody turn that racket _off_?" Maya yelled, to no real avail; her voice was easily drowned out by the music, only a muffled shouting coming through. Thankfully, the song cut out after the first verse, leaving everyone in complete silence. Well... only if you don't count the ringing everyone was currently hearing in their ears. After a few moments, the campers began to groan and mutter to themselves, a few even ready to go back to bed, when there was another crackle over the intercom.

"How's _that_ for a wake-up call, huh?" Chris laughed, voice unmistakable. "Ohhhh the looks on your guys' faces! We only had enough in the budget for like, forty seconds of the song, but totally worth it!"

"I'm hearing a lot of laughing, but I'm not seeing what's so funny," Miriam hissed, glaring at the speaker in the corner of the cabin.

"Yeah, I can't really hear you from where I'm at, but looks like a looooot of complainers from the camera," Chris continued. "If you guys think _that _was tough, oh, just you wait!"  
The host snickered to himself, more proud of the joke than was deserved. "Anyway, told you guys you'd have to be up early! That was your morning wake up call, crack of dawn! But don't worry- breakfast is already ready in the dining room!"

"Breakfast? Alright! Can't work on an empty stomach, can we?" Maxine asked, already perking up and beginning to gather her clothes for the day. "Guess Chris isn't so bad!"

"Yes. Yes he is," Miriam correct, her tone flat.

"So, get your butts over here and eat up. Today's challenge decides team captains, remember? This is something you can't afford to lose! McLean out!"

"He can't be serious," Mitsy groaned, running a hand through her hair. She pulled a pocket mirror from seemingly nowhere, holding it in front of her face and examining herself. "He almost blew our hearing out! I can't believe the... the..." she trailed off, her eyes catching sight of Shelbi, peering up at her from underneath her bed.  
There was a long pause, before Mitsy yelled, "_Why are you sleeping under my bed, you freak?!"_

"Sorry, sorry! Shelbi just feels safest sleeping under a shelter," the feral girl apologized, crawling out and scratching her ear with her back leg. "And you snore the loudest. The noise would scare away other animals!"

"Do it again and animals are going to be the last thing you'll have to worry about, you creep!" Mitsy spluttered, red-faced and fists clenched.

"Well, I dunno. She has a point. If I was an animal, I'd sure be scared-a you," Maya teased, sitting on the edge of her bed and stretching out.

"Ha-ha. I'm absolutely _dying _of laughter," Mitsy frowned, rolling her eyes.

* * *

**CONFESSIONAL: MITSY**

_Ugh. I have GOT to win team captain. If for no other reason than to make sure a few campers, who I will let remain nameless, are off of my team and away from me._

**END CONFESSIONAL**

* * *

A few minutes passed, the girls getting dressed and ready for breakfast, Ingrid passing by Felicity as the two were on their way out.

"Are you okay?" Ingrid asked Felicity, the girl looking a little nervous after the morning's wake up call.

"O-oh, um, yes. I'm alright, thank you," she nod, giving Ingrid a smile. "But, that wake up kind of spooked me a little. It was so loud and sudden..."

Ingrid fidgeted a bit, not _quite _sure how to comfort or reassure the girl. That sort of thing was just outside her realm of expertise. "Um... yeah," she settled on after a little bit. "Chris is a jerk, huh?"  
Felicity smiled, nodding a bit, before another awkward silence fell over the two. After a pause, Ingrid finally asked, "...want to go grab breakfast together?"

Felicity seemed to perk up immediately, a wide grin spreading across her face as she nodded, standing up. "Definitely!"

"You guys becoming friends already, huh?" Stephanie observed from the next bed over, currently lacing up her shoes. "You know, when I win, I can put you both on my team if you want!"

"Oh, thanks!" Felicity smiled sweetly, nodding a bit. "It's nice of you to off-"

"Pff, _your _team?" Maya asked, cutting Felicity off. "I think you mean, they'll be lucky to be on _my _team~"

The three girls looked over, the cowgirl wearing a cocky smile as she flipped on her hat. Stephanie raised an eyebrow, unable to help a smile herself. "Oh yeah? Think you're winning?"

"I know it. But, don't feel too bad about it. I'll leave some room open for 'ya!" Maya put her hands on her hips, posing confidently- mind seemingly free from any doubt that she could lose the challenge.

"Well, why don't you both just be team leaders?" Felicity suggested, still smiling. "I mean, there has to be two captains anyway, righ-"

"Oh yeah? You're on!" Stephanie grinned, nodding her head at Maya. "I bet I'll win today's challenge in _half _the time you could!"

"Try me! I'll win it in half _that _time, then!" Maya countered, the two focused on each other.

"...I'm gonna go eat," Ingrid murmured, quietly slipping out, Felicity shrugging and following after.

* * *

**CONFESSIONAL: STEPHANIE**

_You know, Maya talks big, but I kinda like her! It's nice having someone be as pumped-up as I am!... Buuuuut, I've been playing soccer a long time. I practically breathe sports! If there's anyone who can lead their team to victory, its me!_

**CONFESSIONAL: MAYA**

_Gotta say, glad there's someone who sounds like she can actually keep up with me! I mean, I'm still winnin' the challenge today though, don't get me wrong!_

**END CONFESSIONALS**

* * *

It wasn't long before the dining room was filled with the usual sounds of a busy cafeteria; plates and utensils clanking against one other, the contestants talking and laughing as various waiters brought them their food. Oddly, the dining service seemed to be overhauled from the usual Total Drama experience. They simply sat down, and the kitchen staff took care of the rest. Though, perhaps there even _being _a kitchen staff was the most surprising of all, though the contestants didn't complain about having their food served to them. It was decent enough- a typical meal of eggs, bacon and toast, perhaps a little on the bland side even if it didn't taste particularly bad. Chef Pierre oversaw all of this from the kitchen. The campers didn't ever see him move to cook; he simply stood at his window, staring out at them, an intent expression on his face.

"Yeah, that guy's a creep," Andy remarked casually, munching a piece of toast as he watched the kitchen window. "I don't think he's touched a single dish that's come through those doors."

"Well, maybe its better that way. We don't have to worry about fake mustache hairs in our food," Ash mused, sticking a piece of egg with his fork.

"You think its fake?" Simon smirked. "Mayyyybe one of us should go tug on it. Just to check."

The boys were surprised when Maxine appeared, taking a seat across from them. "Mind if I sit here?" she asked. "Mitsy said I eat too loud, and I should go sit with the boys. I was gonna tell her off, but I figured, you know what? Why not make some new friends!"

The guys glanced at each other, Kyle giving a shrug. "Sure, we don't mind."

"Thanks!" Maxine grinned, beginning to dig in. "Eat too loud, pfffft. Gotta stay healthy, right?"  
This was immediately followed up by the loud sound of Maxine cutting the metaphorical cheese, as it were, the smell soon hitting the unfortunate boys at her table.  
"Eheh. Whoops," she snickered. "Aaaaactually, that might be the real reason Mitsy told me to sit with you guys~"

* * *

**CONFESSIONAL: MAXINE**

_Alright, so mayyyyybe I could work on my manners a bit... but better out than in, right? Besides, around food, I can't help it! I've gotta keep up my strength, anyway. If I win, I'm donating to a lot of charities to help out the hungry! Well, donating AFTER I have a killer party, anyway! Or, uh, donate first, haha!_

* * *

After a while of eating, the door to the dining hall finally opened, and in walked Chris, a smug, self-satisfied smile on his face.  
"Sleep well, campers?" He mocked. "I hope you're ready for today's challenge, because boy is it an important one! The two winners will get their chance to pick their teams for the season. As anyone who's watched Total Drama before knows, the right team can get you far. You've seen some of your fellow contestants in action, gotten to know each other; so it'll be up to the two team captains to devise the strongest team they can. After all, you can end up like Team Amazon... or Team Victory."

This didn't really get the reaction Chris was hoping for. It didn't get a reaction at all, actually, the contestants just staring blankly at him.

"Uh... World Tour?" He frowned, glancing around. "Anybody?"

"Oh, what. Was that another season?" Mitsy asked. "That was like, years ago. Must have missed it."

"Wow. Okay, suddenly liking you guys a lot less," Chris huffed, shoulders slumping a bit. "Point is, you're only as strong as your team, so what happens today will affect the rest of the game."

"That's great, but what _is _the challenge?" Stephanie asked eagerly. "You still haven't said, yet!"

"Oh, I'm getting to it. But for me to explain... I'll need to bring you to where we're holding our challenge." Chris opened the door, waving the contestants out. "So, finish eating, and let's get going, we're wasting daylight!"

The contestants hurried to finish their food, soon shuffling out of the dining area. It wasn't long before the host was leading them through a familiar trek of woods- to the girls, at least.

"Oh, hey! We were here yesterday!" Felicity smiled as they came within view of Snow White's cabin, the dwarfs staring at them as the group entered.

"You guys were here already?" Peter asked, frowning a little bit. "I hope that doesn't give you an advantage..."

"Wait. What do you mean, you were here yesterday?" Chris asked, freezing midway to the cave, turning to face the contestants.

"You know. For the challenge?" Miriam asked, raising an eyebrow. "Did you really forget? This is where we found the second map."

Chris stared at her, puzzled. "But... wait. I thought the first map was supposed to lead you guys to the lagoon."

"Lagoon? There was no lagoon," Miriam replied, crossing her arms. "...are you messing with us?"

Chris just shook his head, visibly confused by this point. He didn't _seem _to be putting on an act. "No... I'm pretty sure the invisible ink part was supposed to lead you to the lagoon with the alligator," he murmured, scratching his head. "Then _that _led you to the resort. Okay, which one of you interns screwed that up?"

Surprisingly, none of the crew fessed up to the mistake, all looking as puzzled as the host himself. Felicity, however, lit up a bit.

"Wait, there _was _invisible ink?" she asked, Maya looking away and whistling nervously.

"Doesn't matter!" Chris huffed, shaking his head. "We're getting way sidetracked here, people! The point is today's challenge! Which, by the way, is simple. It's in here."  
Chris unhooked the chain fence, getting annoyed. "Well, if you guys wandered over here, it's a good thing we had it marked off, anyway. Because your challenge... is in _those _mines."  
He turned back to the contestants, reaching into his pockets. He withdrew a huge, glistening diamond- a few gasps following as several of the campers admired it.

"Woah! Is that real?" Maxine asked.

"Ha! No, its not real. Pfft." Chris rolled his eyes. "Just a fake! If we could afford a diamond this size, we wouldn't _need _to be doing reality TV! So! The challenge is simp-"

There was a short burst of static from a dwarf nearby, causing Chris to jump, the 'diamond' falling out of his hand. "Simple!" Came the unmistakable voice of Franz. "See that diamond Chris fumbled around with and dropped on the floor? Well, there's two of those hidden in the cave. It's pretty easy stuff- the two people who find the diamonds, grab them and bring them out are the winners, and the team captains for the season!"

"Oh. Great." Chris let out an exaggerated sigh, glaring at the dwarf. "You can talk through those, too. Here I was hoping you wouldn't be interrupting today."

"Yeah, fun fact, I didn't even think this would work!" Franz laughed. "I'm just back here, hitting buttons!"

"So, just grab the diamonds?" Simon asked, smiling. "That doesn't sound too bad! As long as there's no creepers or skeletons popping out at us, I mean."

"I don't understand that reference," Franz answered, "buuuut, no. Lots of traps in that cave. Just like, a metric ton of them. But hey, look, you'll just have to figure that out as you go. No fun if I explain everything that could happen in there."

"I wanted to talk about the traaaaaps!" Chris whined. "Are you seriously going to pop up and steal my thunder _every _time there's a challenge?"

"Yes," was Chris' immediate, and only response. The dwarf statue went silent after, Franz not speaking any more.

Chris turned back to the contestants, looking uncharacteristically flustered. "I started today in a good mood, I really did. Well, whatever! Go ahead in, grab the diamonds, come back out. Your challenge starts... _now_!"

With that, the contestants poured into the tunnel, all eager to try and win the position of team leader. Well, most of them, anyway. Stephanie stood outside of the mine, staring in, wide eyed and nervous. Maya, who had been about to run in, paused when she noticed this, turning to Stephanie with a smirk on her face.

"Somethin' wrong?" the cowgirl asked. "Thought you were gonna beat me, weren't you?"  
Her tone was good-natured teasing, more than anything, but it was a second before Stephanie even reacted, snapping her glance away from the cave and over to Maya.

"Uh... yeah, yeah!" she said, nodding quickly. "I uh... was just giving you a headstart! Cuz... you're totally gonna need it!"

* * *

**CONFESSIONAL: STEPHANIE**

_I wouldn't say I'm AFRAID of the dark, or small spaces... just... you know. Uh... cautious. I'm cautious about the dark. And small spaces. Both of which a mine has. Not that that's a problem. Because like I said! Not afraid! I just... wasn't feeling good at the moment, needed a second to get myself together, that's all!_

**END CONFESSIONAL**

* * *

The inside of the cave was a sight to behold. As the contestants entered, they found themselves in a wide corridor that got more cramped as it went in. There were tracks running through the center, and on the left immediately as they entered was a platform. It would seemingly have been some sort of roller coaster, though there wasn't a car to ride in anywhere in sight. But that wasn't what was impressive. That came further in. Inside, as the cave got dark, the walls began to glow- they were lined with all sorts of gems. Though they were artificial, that didn't make them any less beautiful, each gem giving off just a faint light. The cave was illuminated by all sorts of brilliant colors- streaks of blue and green, white and red cutting through the darkness, lighting the path ahead.

"Oh, man!" Adam smiled, looking around. "This looks amazing! This must have been a roller coaster or something... I wish we could have gotten to ride it!"

"Pfft, no time for rides, friend!" Leon called, running past. "Make way!"

A few competitors charged past Adam, nearly knocking him over. "Oh, hey! Wait for me!" he called, running after.

Further in, the mine tunnel began to split off into different paths, the contestants being forced to split up into different groups. Some breaking off into intentional groups or pairs, others... not so intentional. Mitsy was in the unfortunate, latter group, trudging down one of the paths with Simon behind her, humming to himself. Mitsy stopped once, glancing at the wall, plucking off a gem, glancing on it, and tossing it aside.

"Ugh. This is _so much less _interesting knowing they're fake," she muttered, glancing along the wall.

"Whaaaat, you mean looking at rocks isn't _your _favorite past time?" Simon asked with a grin. He gave her a wink, sticking out his hand. "Name's Simon by the way. Don't think we've been introduced~"

"Hi, Simon," Mitsy said, a wide smile spreading across her face, extending her hand for a moment. "I'm 'Not Interested'."  
Her smile immediately dropped, pulling her hand away, immediately turning away from him and beginning to walk off.

Simon gasped, his eyes began to water. "How could you... be so rude? I... I..." He asked, voice wavering, on the verge of tears... before he began to giggle and snicker.  
"Nahhh, just messing with ya. But hey, don't worry. I'll just stay here then, alone."

"Sounds good to me." Mitsy waved a hand dismissively, wandering off.

In the next tunnel over, Aaron was roaming cautiously, examining each of the gems carefully, trying to keep a quick pace. It wasn't that he wanted to be the team captain very badly, but... it just seemed better than doing nothing at the time. He nearly jumped out of his skin, however, when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Ah!"He gasped, spinning around to see Rosella standing behind him, a faint smile on her face.

"Hello again, Aaron," she greeted, pulling her hand away. "I'm glad I found you. I've been looking."

"Oh... its just you..." Aaron murmured, gulping a bit. "Um, hi, Rosella. Thanks for the cookies last night... but, um... maybe you could stop sneaking up on me like that..."

"Oh. I'm sorry." Her smile faltered a bit, looking away. "I just... thought maybe we could look for the diamonds together. I don't want to be captain, but... I'd be happy just to give my diamond to you, if I found one."

Aaron stared at her, not exactly sure how to respond. "Uh... thanks. But... maybe I'd better... go on alone a bit," he suggested, slowly backing away. "Thanks for... offering, though!" He began to quicken his pace, before turning and scurrying off in the opposite direction.

Rosella stared after him, dejected.

* * *

**CONFESSIONAL: ROSELLA**

_I don't understand... what am I doing wrong?_

**CONFESSIONAL: AARON**

_Okay... so this Rosella thing is getting a little weird. I... I hope she's not just being nice to me because she knows my dad has money..._

**END CONFESSIONALS**

* * *

Elsewhere, Andy and Kyle were roaming one section of the cave, chatting as they searched for the diamond.

"Y'know, I bet this place is haunted," Kyle said after a while, a slightly amused expression on his face as he tapped his chin.

"...what?" Andy blinked, looking over at him in confusion. "Where did that come from?"

"I dunno. Was just thinking about it," Kyle shrugged, there having been no real segue into the conversation. "But I see shows about abandoned places like this all the time. Plus those weird animatronics around... I bet its totally haunted."

"Well... I guess it could be," Andy agreed, shrugging. "Its definitely creepy enough."

"We should come back to these caves, do some exploring!" Kyle suggested. "Could be fun after the camera crew has gone to bed, eh?"

"Uh, I dunno that I think creeping around here after dark, alone, would be fun," Andy laughed, shaking his head. "But whatever, I'm down."  
The two rounded a corner, colliding with a pair of familiar figures.  
"Woah!"Andy scrambled backward, shaking his head a bit as he saw who they had bumped into; Ingrid and Felicity. "Uh, sorry, guys!" Andy apologized. "Didn't see you there!"

"Oh, its no problem! Its pretty dark in here, huh?" Felicity chuckled, shaking it off.

"Yeah, no kidding," Andy agreed. "Plus, I feel like this place is gonna collapse any minute. Not claustrophobic, but man."

"Oh, don't worry. There's only about fifty four deaths because of cave-ins a year," Ingrid remarked. "...why are you looking at me like that?"

* * *

"Not it... not it... still not it," Miriam muttered to herself. The girl was on the other side of the cave, fairly deep at this point. She was searching fruitlessly through the various gemstones, not able to find much. Well, unless you counted the heaps of artificial rock, anyway. She heard an odd footfall from behind her, turning to see Ash limping along, smiling and holding up a hand when he saw her.

"Hey. Miriam, right? Any luck?" He asked, pausing, and leaning on his cane.

She eyed him over warily, before giving a shrug, turning back to her search. "Maybe. Hope you're not looking for an alliance, or something. I'm not looking for something that would slow me down," she told him bluntly.

"Ouch. Noted." Ash shook his head, smile not fading- he didn't seem bothered by the comment. Or, if he was, he was at least doing a good job at hiding it. "But no, the whole evil, scheming alliance thing isn't really my speed. Not that speed is my strong suit, anyway," he joked.

"Well... alright. Just as long as you don't try anything," Miriam shrugged, easing up a bit.

"Don't worry, Miriam! Shelbi has an eye on him!"

The two turned, watching as the wolf girl... well, sat there. They weren't sure when she had shown up, exactly, but Shelbi was currently behind the two, sniffing the cave wall. She leaned in, examining a particular gem with great interest, before extending her tongue, tasting it, and grimacing. "Blech."

"Oh. Those rocks not tasting very good, huh?" Ash asked, unsure whether to be concerned or amused. "That's weird, I don't think I'd have guessed."

"Shelbi can help you guys if you want!" the girl offered suddenly, turning to the two. "Shelbi was raised by wolves, so she's used to not leading the pack."

"Heh. I appreciate the offer, but I think I'll be okay," Ash told her, moving forward. "You two be safe- hope the best man, or woman, or... wolf, wins."

He began to hobble along down the path... though, Ash wouldn't end up getting very far.

* * *

Travelling alone, Gael had made it the furthest. He was deep in the cave by this point, unscathed, and it was for that reason he was surprised to find the first diamond. He hadn't encountered a single trap or set back on his way in, and was getting suspicious; but there it was, embedded at the end of the tunnel. He looked around, hesitant, before slowly approaching, reaching a single hand out and taking the diamond. It was embedded firmly in the wall, refusing to come loose at first, but after a bit of prying, Gael was able to yank it loose from its alcove, a deep indent left in the wall where it had been.  
He looked over the diamond, a frown etched on his face. Something about it didn't feel right.

"Couldn't have been that easy... could it?" he murmured to himself, looking around.

His answer would come in the form of a low rumble. Quiet, at first, but slowly beginning to send vibrations through his entire body, the walls of the cave shaking around him. His eyes slowly widened as he realized what was happening, looking up at the ceiling, beginning to back away toward the wall.

"Oh no..."

* * *

"Hm, anyone find anything?" Leon called, digging through a small pile of rocks. Despite his slightly competitive nature, he had ended up sticking with a few of the other competitors anyway, Adam, Peter, and Maxine all wandering around nearby, the four having found a relatively large chamber to explore.

"Nothing over here!" Maxine called back. "I don't think this is the right part of the cave. Maybe we all better move on!"

"Hmm, I dunno," Adam frowned, looking around. "This seems like some kind of main chamber. I mean, if I were designing a movie, or a ride, I'd definitely put _something _here."

As the other three talked, Peter paused, brow furrowing as he noticed something. He knelt down, laying a hand flat on the ground. "...guys?" he called.

"Hmm, I see where you're coming from," Leon shrugged, giving Adam a nod. "But, if we were to find something here, I would think we'd have done it already. Moving on may be for the best."

"Guys?" Peter said again, turning to the group, a note of urgency in his voice.

"Yeah! C'mon, let's go... that way!" Maxine suggested, pointing down a random tunnel.

"_GUYS_!" Peter yelled. The other three campers turned, looking at him.

"Something wrong, Peter?" Leon asked, concerned. He stopped, his gaze travelling back and forth to either side of the chamber. "...why is everything vibrating?"

"That's what I've been trying to tell you!" Peter groaned. "CAVE-IN!"

* * *

Outside the cave, Stephanie bounced in place, trying to get herself pumped up.  
"You can do this," she told herself, staring at the entrance of the cave. "You can do this... you can do this! Just charge in there... running and screaming, grab the diamond, run back out! Don't even open your eyes!"

"Don't see how _that _helps with the darkness," Chris remarked, casually sipping a mug of coffee from nearby.

"You can do this... you can _DO _this!" Stephanie repeated to herself, ignoring Chris. "I can do it! _RAHHHHH!_"

With one last battle cry, Stephanie went charging into the cave, eyes closed, arms flailing wildly, sprinting at full speed. She didn't notice the ground rumbling, at first, but she noticed it when the entrance suddenly collapsed behind her, entombing her in darkness... the gemstones beginning to flicker and dim around her.

"Wait... what?" Stephanie opened her eyes, looking around. "I'm s-stuck? I can't be... oh no. Oh no, oh no oh no oh no oh no... _CHRISSS-"_

Outside the cave, Chris closed his eyes, inhaling through his nose, exhaling through his mouth. A smile crept across his lips, taking another long swig of coffee.

"Ah... I love the smell of unbridled terror in the morning!"

_**To Be Continued...**_

* * *

(A/N: Well... did not _intend _for this to be a two-parter, all truth told. But I had a lot of fun writing the interactions at the beginning, and the episode didn't show any signs of wrapping up when i got into the cave, so eh, why not? At least everyone gets to last one more episode this way, right? :p

So, our campers are left in a rather precarious predicament, hmm? Split off into groups, the cave and various tunnels collapsing, and who knows what other tricks Chris... and Franz... has in store? The battle for team captains is just beginning, and so is the season! thank you guys for reading- I know I missed my update last week, but hopefully I can make that up to you soon. Nothing special really happened, was just busy with work. Don't know if I've said this, but my job usually goes one of two ways; I either have nothing to do and basically get paid to sit on my butt and play Pokemon on my phone, orrrr I'm super busy, have no spare time at work and get called in a bunch. Last week was one of the examples of the latter XD Anyway, I'll see you guys soon, take care!)


	6. Episode 4: Shine on Crazy Diamond Pt 2

Chris was laying on a recliner, shirt unbuttoned, sunglasses on when the cameras started to roll again, a drink in his hand and a smile on his face. As the focus zoomed in on him, he casually sat up, stretching, lifting the sunglasses over on of his eyes.  
"Oh, hey! Totally didn't see you there!" Chris lied, and rather blatantly. But, he liked to have his fun, and it seemed showmanship was one of the few things he was being allowed this season. "Welcome back to Total Drama, Lost Island! Last time we left off, our contestants were having some... technical difficulties! The mines they were exploring had a bit of a cave in! Now how could that have happened?"

Chris snickered to himself a bit, holding his drink to his lips and taking a sip. He let out a content sigh, laying back into his chair.

"But, no big deal!" Chris shrugged, nonchalant. "I mean, after a set-back like that, I'm sure things couldn't get anyyy worse, right? Ah... ha-ha-ha! Spoiler alert. It's gonna get worse. It's gonna get a _whole _lot worse."

* * *

Ash slowly sat up, eyes taking a moment to adjust to his dim surroundings. He ran a hand through his hair, shaking out some of the rubble that now seemed to cover him. He hadn't been hit by any of the rocks that had collapsed, thankfully, but he had taken a bit of a thump on the head diving out of the way. He wasn't concussed, at least- he was thinking far too clearly for that. Looking around, though, a panicking thought hit him.

"Hey- you girls okay? Where are you?" Ash called, standing up and looking around. Miriam was sitting nearby, an annoyed look on her face as she examined a knee, now bruised and scraped.

"Right here. And I'm fine," Miriam said, looking up at him.

"Sure you don't want me to take a look at-" Ash began, starting toward her, but the girl shook her head.

"I told you, I'm fine," she repeated. "I just tripped getting out of the way, that's all."  
She stood up, dusting herself off, looking around the tunnel. Her face fell, shoulders slumping when she saw they were walled in at either side.  
"Great. We're trapped," she muttered, crossing her arms. "So much for winning team leader."

Ash looked around, studying the room they were in. "Well... maybe not," he thought aloud. "That cave-in seemed pretty... controlled. I mean, rocks fell on both sides at the same time, but not anywhere else... not to mention that almost everything in these caves are fake."

"One of Chris' tricks?" Miriam asked, eyebrow arched. "...I guess that makes sense. It would take them too long to dig us out anyway. You think there's a secret tunnel or something?"

"Or something," Ash shrugged. "Chris _did _say there were traps... there must be some way out."  
Ash frowned, thinking, before looking back up, concerned. "Wait... where's Shelbi? She was just here a minute ago..."

"...you don't think she was caught in the collapse, do you?" Miriam blinked, looking a little worried. She turned, searching for the girl, only to roll her eyes when she finally found her. "Don't worry. There she is."

Ash craned his head to look past Miriam; sure enough, Shelbi was laying nearby, casually, chewing on something. Not just something... Ash's cane, chomping on it like it was a bone.

"Oh... hey guys!" Shelbi smiled, lifting her head. "Sorry, Shelbi didn't want to interrupt, sounded like you were talking about something important!"

"...yeahhh. Uh... can i have my cane back?" Ash asked, shuddering a little.

* * *

Back towards the cave's entrance, Peter, Adam, Maxine and Leon were all in the same chamber together, having made it out of the initial collapse unscathed. That was save for Leon- he stood close to one of the tunnel's exits. So close, in fact, that a step to the left and he would have been caught in the rubble and debris.

"Ha-ha! Look at that!" Leon grinned, whistling as he stood back, looking over the rocks. "A little further, and I'd have been crushed!"

"How is _that _funny?" Peter asked, adjusting his glasses, which were a bit dusty. He regarded Leon a bit warily, wondering if he had been hit in the head. "You could have been crushed!"

"Ehh, I'm fine! That's the important part, right?" Leon shrugged, smile not fading.

On the other side of the room, Adam let out a sigh of relief. "That was close, huh? Someone must have found one of the diamonds, I bet!"

"Ya think so?" Maxine asked, rubbing her head.

"Know it! Just like _Raiders of the Lost Ark- _soon as someone takes the idol... err, diamond, the boulder comes loose! The boulder being a bunch of smaller rocks in this case," Adam chuckled. "I mean, that's just sorta the rules for a set up like this."

"Hmm... you know, he does have a point," Peter agreed, stroking his chin as he thought it over. "All of those paths collapsed at once. It's hard to believe that could happen naturally with no warning. It stands to reason _something _set them off."

"Huh... yeah, that does make sense now that I think about it! But... that still doesn't help with getting out of here." Maxine sighed, digging a bit at a pile of rubble. "Maybe we could dig our way out?"

"Unlikely," Peter frowned. "It would take us forever to dig our way past one of these cave-ins. Or, too long to still have a chance at winning the challenge, anyway. And if we picked the wrong way out..."

"Ding ding ding! Now you're getting it!" Franz suddenly cut in. The competitors looked around, startled, before spotting a speaker in one of the corners of the room. "Forgot I had eyes on everything in the island, huh? You should see your faces. But see, Peter here knows what he's talking about. You can't dig your way out, because there's only _one_ way out. Through... _this _door."

At that, a panel in the wall slid down, revealing... broad daylight. It seemed like it was just a straight shot outside. Confused, the contestants looked from the door, back to the speaker.

"I don't get it. You want us to just go? Did we lose already?" Maxine asked, perplexed.

"Nope. But you guys are the luckiest- and unluckiest- cast members right now. See, there's actually _one _more path you can go down," Franz explained. "And it'll take you right to one of the diamonds. The catch is... I'll only open that door to the last person standing."

"Standing from... what, exactly?" Adam looked around cautiously, half-expecting something to pop out at him.

"See, this room... is the room of terror!" Franz laughed. "In a minute, I'm gonna start releasing all sorts of things from the ceiling. You'll be faced with some of the most horrifying things known to man. You have two options; face your fears, or, turn, and run out that door! See, each panel I'll open releases something new, chasing you off until only one of you remains. Then, I'll open the path, and the person remaining will basically have a free ticket to becoming team captain. Unless, y'know, another contest finds you and steals the diamond. Always a possibility. But once you leave the cave, no coming back in. So either face your fears, or get lost."

"So... one of the four of us will be captain, huh?" Leon looked around, before nodding, determined. "Alright! Bring it on, then!"

"Heh... you asked for it!" Franz snickered, before a tile overhead slowly began to open. "Then let's see how the four of you handle... a horde of deadly tarantulas!"

The four contestants looked up, watching in horror as tarantulas began to fall from the ceiling... huge, hairy, horrifying... and dead. The arachnids all fell to the ground quietly, limbs curled up, completely lifeless.

"Oh. That isn't so scary," Maxine remarked, nudging one with her foot.

"Oh, for the love of- who forgot to feed the tarantulas?!" Franz demanded.

* * *

"Man, the collapse was kind of a bummer. So much for winning by a _landslide_! Huh? Mitsy? Get it?"

Simon grinned, watching the girl trudge on, furious, having had to listen to the boy's jokes for far too long now. She only seemed more irate with each one, but Simon couldn't help but prod on anyway.

"I mean, with the way this challenge is going, we're really between a rock and a hard place!" Simon continued. Well, that wasn't true in the literal sense- unlike many of the other competitors, they hadn't been walled into one area. Only one end of the tunnel had collapsed for them. So while they were able to continue... they were forced to do so together.

Mitsy groaned, clenching her fists a bit, not saying anything in response to the joke.

"Come on. I'm just saying." Simon sighed, speeding up a bit to walk alongside her. "You don't have to be so... stone-faced~"

Mitsy quietly took a breath eye twitching. She stopped, bending over to scoop up a rock, tossing it up and down in her hand, testing the weight.

"Its definitely a rocky road ahead! Hm?" Simon glanced back, having walked ahead of her a bit without noticing. "...what's that you've got there?"

"A rock," Mitsy said flatly.

"Oh. Why do you have-"

Before Simon could even finish, Mitsy pulled her arm back, launching it square at him, hitting him directly in the head.

"Owww!" Simon groaned, rubbing the back of his head, wincing and staggering backward. "What was that for?!"

"Because you won't shut up for _FIVE. MINUTES!_" Mitsy snapped.

"But you hit me with a rockkkk!" Simon protest, whining playfully.

"And you're lucky it wasn't a bigger one!" Mitsy hissed, walking up and jabbing her finger into his chest. "Now stop with the jokes, or I will _bury _you back in that rubble, understand?"

"Yeesh, okay, okay," Simon sighed. "Tough crowd!"

Mitsy resumed making her way down the tunnel, stomping off ahead. Simon followed behind after waiting a moment, still unable to help but smirk a little bit. The two walked on in relative silence, Simon humming to himself under his breath, and Mitsy praying that the challenge would just end. Or, that another cave in would crush one or both of them. Whichever came first.  
After a while of walking, though, Mitsy rounded a corner, surprised when she quite literally bumped into someone else: Aaron. The young man gasped, stumbling backward but able to regain his balance, startled.

"Oh, you scared me a little," he murmured, rubbing his neck. "I didn't think I'd see anyone else down here."

"Finally, someone _normal_," Mitsy sighed in relief, crossing her arms. "This way is a dead end. I don't suppose there are any other tunnels back where you came from, are there?"

"Um..." Aaron frowned, turning to look back down the corridor. "Well, actually, the path did fork a little bit back. I haven't gone down the other way yet, so..."

"Good, so that's where I'm going," Mitsy said, already starting to walk past him. Aaron hesitated a moment, before following after.

"Oh, another fellow traveler eh? What are the odds?" Simon smiled, wrapping his arm around Aaron's shoulder. "Just uh, don't tell many jokes. Not a big sense of humor, this one."

As the trio began to make their way, Rosella watched from a distance, biting her lower lip nervously as she watched them go. She wanted to join up with them, to try and help... but the nicer she tried to be, the more disturbed Aaron was, it seemed. She wrestled back and forth with a decision, leaning against the wall absently while she tried to make her choice. As she pressed her weight against the wall, though, she felt one of the stones shift slightly... then she heard a clunk.

"Wh... what was...?" she pulled away, looking around nervously, not sure what had happened. The gems lining the walls all seemed to light up again, but now they were vibrating furiously. Further down the path, the group of three stopped, also noticing what was happening.

"Hey, what's that?" Simon asked, looking around- receiving his answer in the form of a gem launching out of the wall, hitting him in the head. "Owww, Mitsy!"

"That... wasn't me! OW!" Mitsy yelped as she was struck by a gem from behind.

"The walls!" Aaron exclaimed, ducking as a gem flew past his head. "They're shooting out the gems!"  
He tried to duck under another one, but was unsuccessful, getting struck in the forehead. The gems were beginning to launch faster and faster now, pelting all four of them from every which angle.

"Run!" Mitsy yelled, taking off down the corridor, Simon and Aaron quickly following after, covering their heads.

"W-wait! Wait for me!" Rosella called, hurrying after them. Though, they couldn't hear her by that point; gems rained down on them like rainbow-colored hail, pelting them as they tried their best to escape. "Hold on- Aaron!"

* * *

"Ow..." Felicity let out a whimper of pain, rubbing her head. She was sat on one side of a pile of rocks, mostly okay, except for a light thump she had received on her head. "Guys? Is everyone okay? What happened?"

Looking around though, the only other person she saw was Kyle, who looked... worried.

"Uh... Andy? Ingrid?" He called, looking at the collapsed area warily... and when Felicity followed his gaze, she saw why. Mixed in with all of the rubble was Andy's hat, covered in pebbles and dust.

Felicity gasped, scrambling over. "Ingrid! Andy!" she called, panicked, beginning to dig. Thankfully, though, she didn't have to wait long for a response.

"Ugh... Felicity? That you?" Andy called, voice a bit muffled.

"Andy! You okay?" Kyle knelt next to Felicity, holding his ear close to the rubble. "We found your hat over here, thought you got crushed or something! Is Ingrid with you?"

"I'm here," Ingrid piped up, "looks like that cave in separated us."

"Yeah, Ingrid totally saved my bacon!" Andy told them. "Yanked me out of the way while the rocks came down. Uh... think we're just gonna have to find our own ways around, but, could you grab my hat for me?"

"Oh, no problem!" Felicity smiled a little, scooping the hat out of the rubble. She gave it a shake, before placing it on her head for safe-keeping. "I'll hold on to it for you!"

"Thanks! Uh... not sure where the way out is, there's a couple tunnels," Andy thought aloud.

"Well, why don't we head back the way we came?" Kyle suggested. "If there's a tunnel that's really close, maybe it'll loop back around."

"Sounds like a good idea," Ingrid nodded. "This reminds me of that one horror movie. You know, the guy with the pick axe? He killed all those couples on valentine's day, hid them in a cave?"

Felicity's face drained of color. "U-um... you don't think they put a crazy pick axe guy in here... do you?" She asked, turning to Kyle.

"I dunno. Maybe," Kyle shrugged, not trying to frighten the girl, just giving an honest answer. "I guess its possible."

"What? No! They didn't!" Andy called. "Well... okay, maybe! But look, even if there was a pickaxe-murderer, they'd have to give him a rubber weapon!"

Felicity let out an eep, eyes widening. "C...can we hurry up?" she shivered.

"Oh. Sure thing!" Kyle nodded. "Alright, we're gonna start heading back, Andy. We'll try and meet up with you."

"Sounds good, see you on the other side!" Andy called. On the other side of the rubble, he and Ingrid began to head toward the closest tunnel. He exhaled, shaking himself loose.  
"Alright, kind of a setback," he remarked. "But as long as we can meet up with the others, we should be fine, right?"  
As soon as the words escaped his lips, the ground he stepped on popped out of the ground on a spring, launching him down the hallway.  
"AAAAAAAAAAAAaaaa-"

Ingrid watched, wide eyed as he flew down, before slamming into the far end of the corridor. "Um... you alright?"

She received no response- Andy simply groaning as he slid down the wall, hitting the floor with a thud. Ingrid gulped, taking a hesitant step forward, beginning to make her way toward him.

* * *

In the very innermost portion of the cave, Gael watched as the cave shook, and shook... but ultimately, not much happened, at least not on his end. The vibrations began to stop- by now, all of the traps had sprung in the other reaches of the cave, though he didn't know that, having been isolated from the others. Still, in his hand, he clutched the diamond. He wasn't _entirely _sure he wanted to be team leader, truth be told. But he had the diamond now anyway, right? He might as well make the most of the opportunity. Clutching the faux-jewel in his hand, he turned, beginning to make his way back out of the cave. Luckily enough, he had simply followed the railroad track in. He was a little surprised no one else had considered the same; though, they may have thought it would be too easy for Chris to consider.  
Behind him, Gael heard an odd... grating sort of sound. He froze, turning his head back to see what was happening. Behind him, the wall in which the diamond had been stuck was beginning to lift, exposing a large opening in the wall behind him. Inside the alcove was... a minecart. It sat there, still... before slowly inching forward. Gael immediately realized what was going to happen... the ground below him was at an incline, which meant...

He tried to react in time, turning to run forward, but the minecart flew into motion, barreling down the track and toward him.  
'Get off the track!' he thought to himself, but before he could put theory into practice, the minecart hit him from behind. It seemed to tilt at an angle upon impact. Rather then running him over or knocking him aside, it actually scooped him up, continuing to speed along the track. Turned out, it wouldn't be that easy, after all.

"Woah!" Gael tried to scramble out of the cart, but it was simply moving too fast for him to leap out. It roared along the path, faster, and faster. Gael could make out a light at the end of the tunnel, getting closer... and closer...  
The cart came to a sudden stop, hitting a buffer at the end of the track, launching Gael out. He flew into the soft grass outside of the cave, groaning as he hit the ground.

"Huh. Didn't think anyone would fall for that one!"

Gael winced, opening one eye and looking up... seeing he had fallen directly at the foot of Chris' chair.

"So it _was _trapped," Gael muttered. "I should have known it wasn't that easy..."  
Gael got up, looking around. He hadn't exited the way he had come in- actually, the entrance he had used seemed collapsed. "Wait... but the track..."

"Ehh, its an old ride made up after a mine shaft, remember?" Chris shrugged. "I mean, I assume that's what you were gonna ask. The main entrance caved in. The tracks just switched to another exit. The mine has _tons _of ways in and out."

"Oh... I guess that makes sense," Gael nodded, looking back from the entrance and over to Chris.

"Eh. I mean, probably. That's just what the producers were telling me, I didn't really listen," the host yawned. "The traps, now _those _I paid attention too. And looks like you fell right for it!"

Gael looked away, a bit embarrassed- but then remembered something. "Wait! The diamond! I was able to grab it before... before..." Gael looked around, realizing he no longer held the gem. He ran back to the cart, peering inside- and seeing it was empty.

"Grabbed it, but couldn't hold on, huh?" Chris snickered.

"I must have dropped it along the path! Let me-" Gael moved to run back inside, but Chris shook his head.

"Nuh-uh! No going back in once you've left!" the host scolded. "We made that clear at the beginning of the challenge!"

"...I don't think you did," Gael frowned, though he obeyed nonetheless, taking a step back from the cave.

"Didn't I?" Chris thought it over, before waving away the accusation. "Doesn't matter! Host rules! And youuuuuu just lost out on your chance, bud! Better go wait for everyone else!"

Gael sighed, walking over, and taking a seat by the entrance of the cave.

* * *

**CONFESSIONAL: GAEL**

_I didn't think I'd become captain going in, but... coming that close and still losing is disappointing. I'm just glad we haven't hit the elimination challenges yet. At least someone'll have an easier time finding the diamond than I did._

**END CONFESSIONAL**

* * *

And sure enough... someone did. Back in the cave, Maya was trudging around, scratching her head as she tried to figure out where everyone went.  
"Where in the world did everyone go?" she asked, to no one in particular. She was about to turn and go down another path, when she nearly tripped over a large rock... or so she thought. Looking down, she saw the diamond Gael had dropped.

"Alright! Can't believe my luck!" she grinned, scooping it up. She lifted her hat, placing the diamond inside, before placing it back on her head, heading off with a smirk to find the exit.

* * *

**CONFESSIONAL: MAYA**

_Ha, I knew I was good, but I didn't think it'd be THAT simple! It's like they're TRYING to take things easy on me!...They aren't actually, are they?_

* * *

As Maya was following the track toward the exit, she nearly leapt out of her skin when she heard a loud scream, turning in time to see Stephanie charging down the tunnel.

"What in the-" was all Maya had time to say before the two collided, both girls being knocked off of their feet. "Agh... Stephanie?"  
Maya slowly lifted her head, glancing over to see her hat had been knocked off. She hurriedly scooped it up, checking that the diamond was still inside, before putting it back on.

"Maya?" Stephanie sat up, rubbing her head. "I didn't know anyone else was around here... sorry."  
Stephanie moved a little closer to Maya, seeming... nervous.

"Uh... what's wrong?" Maya asked. "Somethin' chasin' you?"

"Huh? No! No!" Stephanie forced a loud laugh, scrambling to her feet. "Definitely not!"

"...then why were you screamin'?" Maya asked, even more confused.

"Uh... was I? Fear... tactics! Fear tactics!" Stephanie put her hands on her hips proudly. "I... screamed the entire time I was running to scare off traps and... people and... stuff!"

Maya just stared, blankly. "so you screamed the ENTIRE time you've been in here?"

"...so uh, how have you been doing?" Stephanie asked, eager to change the subject. "You didn't find the diamond yet, did you?"

Maya opened her mouth to respond, not quite sure how to. Maya didn't really want to lie, but it was a challenge after all... and they were competing against one another.

"Uhhh... nope! Not me!" Maya stood up, shuffling off to one side. "Definitely did not find a diamond, no siree!"

"Alriiiight..." Stephanie watched Maya suspiciously, her eyes following the girl as she slowly slid over to one side of the room, toward the exit. "In that case, why don't we... work together, maybe?"  
At this point, as much as she hated to admit it, Stephanie simply wasn't keen on being alone. She hated being in the cave enough as it was, the light barely being enough to see, the tight tunnels and corridors restricting.

Maya, however, looked her over warily, not forgetting their banter earlier that morning.  
"...waiiit, I get it! You just wanna tag along so you can steal my diamond, right?" Maya guessed. "Well, tough luck gettin' it! You thought I forgot our bet, huh?"

"No, that's not- wait, you DO have a diamond?" Stephanie paused, staring at Maya carefully.

The cowgirl's gaze shifted around, realizing she had been caught.  
"See, uh, the thing is... see ya!"

Maya turned, storming down the track, holding her hat tightly to her head.

"Hey, wait! Come back here!" Stephanie called, taking off after her. "I just wanted to...!"

* * *

"Found something!" Ash called.  
Ash had been walking along the corridor in which they were trapped, tapping the wall patiently with his cane. This didn't yield much in the way of results, at first, but finally, he struck gold... metaphorically. Actually, he had struck something that looked more similar to a garnet. But what was really important was, the spot of wall he had struck seemed to be hollow. He rapped his cane against the area a few more times to be sure- it was hard to tell in the dark, but the wall also seemed off-color, ever so slightly.

"You have a way out?" Miriam asked, walking up to Ash, looking the wall over.

"Think so," he nod. He knocked his cane against the wall again. "Hear that? Hollow. If we can get it open, I bet there's a path out of here."

"But you don't know where it leads?" Miriam glanced at him, eyebrow raised.

"No, but, if you wanna stay here..."

"Point taken," she sighed.

Ash smiled, taking a step back. "I don't like it either, but only the one way forward. The question is, how do we get it open..."

"Oh! Shelbi knows this one!" the feral girl trot over to the wall on all fours, eyeing the door over. "We just have to hit it hard enough, right?"

"...or... hi something specific." Miriam's eyes narrowed as she gazed at the door, looking at all of the gems, before reaching out and beginning to push each one.

"Hey... not a bad idea!" Ash nod, beginning to follow suit. Soon enough, Miriam pushed a large, red gem toward the center. The stone gave a click, and within moments, the wall retracted inward, sliding aside, revealing a passage consisting of sterile, white tile.

Shelbi stuck her head in, sniffing around, her nose wrinkling. "It smells weird in here. Like chemicals."

"It does look like a passage through, though." Miriam took a step in, looking down the hallway- drearily lit by florescent bulbs that hung overhead. "Hm. Good work. I guess bumping into you two wasn't such a bad thing."

She was silenced, however, when Shelbi took off down the hall, clambering forward. "Shelbi will scout ahead!"

"...okay. Well, meeting one of you wasn't a bad thing," Miriam remarked, looking back at Ash. "One of you I'm still not sure about."

"She's... enthusiastic, at least." Ash watched her go, before following after. "Come on, let's see where this leads."

Shelbi bounded down the tunnel, entirely barren; it seemed like it was simply used for a quick traversal method. As they approached the other side, however, the sealed off door seemed to open automatically... and they could hear voices in the distance, Shelbi beginning to growl.

"They have to be around here somewhere," a male said. "If we just keep going this way, then maybe-"

A figure moved past the doorway. Before Ash or Miriam could react, Shelbi pounced, pinning them to the ground; Kyle, eyes widening in surprise, not even having noticed the door slid open until it was too late.

"Ah- what the?!" He hit the ground with a thud, wincing.

"Kyle!" Felicity gasped, backing away to the other side of the tunnel in shock. "L...leave him alone..." she tried to say, attempting to come across as commanding, but her voice was barely a whisper.

"Woah, hey!" Ash rushed to the edge of the doorway, looking out at them. "What's going on?!"

Kyle glanced over, confused. "Ash?" He looked up at the girl on top of him. "...Shelbi? Que? What's going on? Where did you come from?"

"Oh. Hey, Kyle! Shelbi didn't see you there!" the girl slid off of him, Felicity walking over to help him to his feet.

"Secret tunnel," Ash explained, stepping up to the two. "We got trapped on the other side, but, we found our way through. What about you guys?"

"Huh. Clever." Kyle stroked his chin, looking over at the empty space. "We were with Andy and Ingrid, but we all got separated. Trying to regroup since then. We haven't found them, but, I think the way out is that way. We were gonna head there and wait for them."

"You mean you're giving up?" Miriam asked, sounding surprised.

"Eh... with falling boulders and traps and secret passages, I'm not sure team captain is worth the risk," Kyle responded casually.

"I just want to get out of here safe with Ingrid and Andy," Felicity agreed, nodding her head rapidly. "I didn't think it would be so dangerous..."

Miriam looked at the two, incredulous. "You guys know what show we're on, right? Nothing is going to come easy. Definitely not a million dollars."

"Yeah, but, not elimination tonight, right?" Kyle shrugged, slipping his hands into his pockets. "You guys can come along if you want."

"You know... think I've had enough of caves today," Ash agreed. "I'm coming."

"Don't forget Shelbi!"

The three began to walk off, Miriam staring after them, a scowl on her face. Ash glanced back over his shoulder, looking back at her. "Coming?"

She stared, silent, before turning away from them, heading back down the hall Kyle had come from. "No thanks. I'll go my own way."

* * *

**CONFESSIONAL: MIRIAM**

_I'm not here to make friends. If they don't want to take the challenge seriously because its not elimination, so be it. I just know who NOT to choose when I become team captain._

**END CONFESSIONAL**

* * *

Back in the large, central chamber, Maxine, Adam, Peter and Leon watched as the room filled with bodies. Bug bodies, that was. After the dead tarantulas piled up, dead centipedes followed. Then dead flies. Then dead bees. Then dead hornets, and then dead locusts.

"_How _did nobody feed _ANY _of the insects?!" Franz demanded. "This is completely ridiculous, _and _unprofessional! Someone is totally getting fired for this!"

"Well, these aren't _all _insects," Peter remarked, looking over at the pile of tarantulas. "Not to mention, you'd need more bugs to feed most of these, so keeping all of these in bulk is a little foolish."

"I'm confused. Has the challenge started yet?" Leon asked, scratching his head.

"I've never seen any movies like this," Adam commented. "Are we in a comedy, maybe?"

"Ugh, you know what? Take the diamond, I don't care anymore!" Franz snapped- a door on the other side of the room suddenly sliding open, revealing the other diamond inside. "God, this whole thing has really skeeved me out! I had this whole fear room planned out- I don't even want to know what happened to the rats or the snakes!"

"So... who gets the diamond?" Maxine asked, looking around.

"Fist fight for it, I don't care!" Franz huffed. "God, I'm annoyed!... Actually, this works better! You all have to figure this one out for yourselves! Friends turning on friends, the fighting, the betrayal! Will you compete for it fairly among yourselves? Make a mad dash for the prize?"

"I mean... I don't know if its friends vs friends, exactly." Peter adjusted his glasses, looking at the other three. "Erm, no offense, but we've only known each other a day or so."

"...you guys are trying to make me mad, aren't you?" Franz huffed. "I would totally fill this room with like, knock out gas if I had some right now."

On the other side of the wall, Mitsy, Simon, Aaron and Rosella were all running forward, covered in marks and bruises, gems still flying around them. Mitsy skid to a halt as she came to a dead end, seemingly nowhere to go.  
"What? But where...?" She looked around, panicked- which only intensified when she turned around to see the other three sprinting at her, unable to see her thanks to the poor lighting and the chaos around them. "No, wait! Stop, st-"

It was too late, though, the three crashing into her- and the wall giving way beneath them, the four falling through into the same room Franz was overseeing... as well as directly into the pile of dead tarantulas.

"Ew... ew ew ew ew ew ew _ewwwwwww_!" Mitsy pushed the others off of her, standing up and bouncing around, aggressively patting herself down to get everything off of her.

Aaron's eyes widened as he saw what he had landed on, scrambling away, trying to get everything off of him. "S-spiders? Bees?!" he panicked, surveying the room and backing up against the wall.

"What the... what are you guys doing here?" Adam asked, surprised.

"Oh, we were just in the neighborhood, thought we'd drop in," Simon answered casually, looking around. "What's going on in here?"

"Uh... Franz? I thought you said there were only two doors," Adam remembered, looking over at the speaker.

"...okay, maybe I lied!" Franz answered. "But... I totally had this planned, definitely! You four over there, Mitsy, Simon, Aaron, Rosella! See that opening over there? The diamond is right inside!"

The four all looked over, either confused or convinced he was lying... only to see Franz was indeed telling the truth.

"Alright, you eight. I don't even care how this wraps up anymore, I'm totally over this cave thing. First person to grab it and run outside is team captain. Go nuts!" With that, the speaker crackled, Franz going silent.

There was a brief silence, each of the contestants eyeing each other over.

"...rock paper scissors to see who gets it?" Leon suggest, smiling genuinely as he held out a fist.

There would be no rock, paper or scissors, however. Mitsy, Simon, Maxine and Adam immediately bolted for the diamond, Leon following after when he realized what was happening.

"Mine!" Mitsy yelled. "I did NOT go through all of that to come out empty-handed!"

The five immediately dog-piled, trying to snatch the diamond. Rosella watched them, before looking over at Aaron. "Are... are you alright?" she asked him, walking over and reaching out to touch his shoulder.

Aaron pulled away, more out of reaction than trying to be rude. "Uh... I just need to... I don't like bugs, or dirt, and..." he looked at Rosella, the cave, the exit... and then ran for it, unsure what else to do.

"Aaron, wait!" she called, hesitating, before running after him.

Leon finally climbed out of the pile successfully, grinning to himself. "Alright! The diamond is..." He reached out, only to realize... "...gone?"

"Wait... what?" Mitsy looked up at him, eye twitching slightly. "What do you mean gone?"

The five looked around the room, thinking it had fallen to the floor in the scuffle... only to notice Peter hurrying toward the exit, stuffing something into his pocket.

"...AFTER HIM!" Mitsy ordered, chasing after him, the others quickly following suit.

* * *

Back outside the cave, Chris and Gael waited quietly, at least until Maya and Stephanie emerged from an entrance, the two spilling on to the ground.

"Ngh- its mine, ya can't have it!" Maya huffed, gripping her hat.

"I was just trying to... hoo boy..." Stephanie pant, exhausted from all her running, going limp on the ground as she caught her breath.

"Oh... oh!" Maya looked up at Chris, the host appearing befuddled, before she lifted her hat, the diamond resting on top of her head. "Chris! I got one! I got one!"

"...kay. Not gonna ask why you're WEARING the diamond, but... still counts," the host shrugged. "Looks like Maya is first team captain!"

"Woo!" Maya thrust an arm into the air triumphantly. "Looks like I won our lil' bet, huh Steph?"

Stephanie didn't respond, looking away in disappointment. More voices began to emerge from the cave- soon enough, Kyle, Felicity, Ash and Shelbi walked out into the daylight, looking relieved.

"Glad to be out of there- but man, is it bright out here." Kyle squinted, holding a hand just above his eyes to block out the sunlight.

"Phew... I'm so happy that's over..." Felicity sighed. "Oh, but... Andy and Ingrid..."

"Don't worry. I'm sure they're fine," Ash told her, giving a reassuring smile.

"Yeah! Besides, Shelbi didn't smell blood!" the wolf girl gave Felicity a toothy grin- probably meant to be reassuring, but it came off as horrifying instead. "And Shelbi has a good nose for blood, too! They should be fine!"

Chris stared at them, eyes squinted, mouth slightly agape. "...you guys are weird this year. And this is coming from the guy who's had to deal with a girl who thought she was a princess for a season. But, doesn't matter- you guys left the cave, so you're stuck here for the rest of the challenge, which..."  
Chris paused, the sound of yelling and running becoming audible, if faint.  
"...which may not be that much longer."

From the other side of the cave, Aaron and Rosella emerged... followed by almost everyone else, Peter scrambling out, falling flat on his face in his attempt to get away. Mitsy, Leon, Maxine, Simon and Adam appeared at the entrance not seconds after, looking frustrated.

"Oh, come on! Just missed him!" Mitsy groaned, giving her foot a stomp.

"Chris! The diamond! I got one!" Peter called, fishing it out of his pocket, and holding it up.

"Huh. Well, I'll be- definitely didn't think you'd be the one to win," Chris smirked. "But, it looks like we have our two team captains decided. Maya and Peter, looks like you two get to pick the teams this season!'

* * *

**CONFESSIONAL: PETER**

_Its not that I really wanted to be in charge or anything. I simply thought that, being able to pick my team for the season would be beneficial. After all, I've sized a few campers up, and I think I know who would be best to ensure my team is successful._

**CONFESSIONAL: STEPHANIE**

_I can't believe I blew it like that... I really let my fears- err, I mean, concerns!- get into my head this challenge... I don't deserve to be captain._

**END CONFESSIONALS**

* * *

"Hmmm..." Chris looked over the contestants, counting them up. "So that's one two three four... fifteen of you! So just three missing, huh?"

"Are they gonna be okay?" Felicity asked, worried.

"Ahh, don't worry about it," Chris told her. "I shooooould let them wait in there for a while as the price of poor performance, but, we're running out of time for this episode. So I'll just have some interns grab them."

"Already on it," Franz interrupted. "Too slow, McLean."

Sure enough, a pair of interns walked out with Miriam, Ingrid, and a VERY beat up looking Andy in tow.

"Andy? What happened to you?" Kyle asked, looking him over.

"I managed to trigger _every _trap in that hall we were stuck in," Andy groaned, rubbing his head. "I was launched into walls, hit with rocks, pelted with gems..."

"So why's Ingrid okay?"

The goth just shrugged. "I watch a lot of scary movies. I saw all the traps a mile away."

"Well you could have warned meeeee!" Andy groaned.

"...you didn't ask," Ingrid murmured, kicking her foot into the dirt slightly.

"Okay, guys! Here's the deal- Peter and Maya won today's challenge, making them the team captain's. So, everyone line up, and we'll have them pick, schoolyard style!" Chris instructed, the contestants doing as told. "Peter and Maya, come here."  
The two walked up to Chris, standing on either side of him and looking the other sixteen contestants over.  
"Okay, you two. So, Maya, because you were back first, you'll get the first pick. Then Peter picks, back to Maya, and so on. So Maya, who's it gonna be?"

Maya frowned, eyeing the line over, before smiling. "I'll pick... Leon."

"Ha! A fine choice," Leon smiled, walking over to her. "You won't regret it, I promise!"

* * *

**CONFESSIONAL: MAYA**

_He's pretty muscular, and he seemed to be leadin' the boys last challenge. Ain't bad lookin' either. Gotta be worth somethin', right?_

**END CONFESSIONAL**

* * *

"Hmm... I pick... Stephanie!" Peter nod, pointing at the jock.

"...wait, really?" she asked, surprised- it was an easy pick for Peter, of course, but she was still a bit disappointed with her performance. "Well, alright..."

Maya frowned as Stephanie walked over to Peter's side... that was going to have been her next pick. "Hmm... I'll go with Ash."

"Heh. Feels like I'm being picked for kickball," Ash mused, slowly walking over to her. "Which, don't do that, by the way."

"Pfft. All I need you to do now is stand there and look pretty, hot stuff," Maya smirked.

"...are you just picking boys you think are cute?" Miriam asked, looking irritated.

"Whaaaat? No!" Maya huffed. "...a little. Peter, you pick!"

"Hmm." Peter looked the line over again. "Andy!"

"Alright! I'd high five, but, this arm's pretty sore." Andy smiled, walking over to his team.

"I'm gonna go... Gael!" Maya countered.

"You totally are just picking all the boys!" Miriam insisted.

"Whaaat? Noooo!" Maya said, feigning innocence.

"Kyle!" Peter selected, not waiting to be prompted.

"Alright. Liking my team so far," Kyle nodded, walking over and patting Peter on the shoulder, giving Andy a nod.

"Nice. Teammates!" the skater smiled.

"Darn, he was my next pick," Maya sighed. "Fiiiiine. Miriam, then."

Miriam rolled her eyes, walking over to her team.

* * *

**CONFESSIONAL: MIRIAM**

_Am I happy with how things turned out? Not really. I set out to become captain, and I couldn't do it, and now I'm stuck with someone in charge who isn't taking things seriously. I have to do better, next challenge._

**END CONFESSIONAL**

* * *

"Adam," Peter said, continuing with his pick. "You were certainly insightful about the challenge today. I think that'll come in handy."

"I hope it will," Adam grinned, thrilled with not being a late pick. "Thanks, Peter!"

"Hm... gettin' tough now," Maya muttered. "I'll go with... Rosella."

Rosella slowly walked over to her team, glancing back at Aaron, concern etched into her face. "If... if you say so..." she mumbled.

"Shelbi!" Peter called out.

Shelbi howled happily, before bounding over to her team- everyone looking at Peter in surprise.

* * *

**CONFESSIONAL: PETER**

_It... was a calculated risk._

**END CONFESSIONAL**

* * *

"Hoo boy. Hope I don't regret this one- but Simon," Maya sighed.

"Pfft, what's to regret about picking me?" Simon hummed, puffing out his chest proudly and strolling over. "Except that maybe it took so long to pick me, anyway~"

"Hmm... hard now indeed," Peter murmured to himself. "I pick... Ingrid."

"Oh. Um, alright. I guess this team isn't too bad," Ingrid shrugged, stepping over to them.

"Welcome aboard!" Andy nod, patting her on the back.

"Annnd I know I'll regret this one- Mitsy," Maya picked

"Great." Mitsy rolled her eyes, sizing her team up as she approached. "Literally the exact opposite of how I hoped my team would turn out."

"Aww. We love you too," Simon cooed.

"I'll go... Felicity," Peter chose. "It'll be good for you to work with people you already like, right!"

Felicity's eyes lit up, and she happily skipped to her team. "Yeah! Thanks for picking me!" she beamed, looking over her teammates happily.

"Just two left!" Chris announced, looking at Maxine and Aaron. "Must feel pretty bad to be you guys right now, huh?"

Rosella watched in anticipation, swaying in place nervously.

"Yeah... last pick." Maya studied the two carefully, not sure what call to make. "Well... I guess I'll go with... Maxine. At least I know you a bit better."

"At least? What's that supposed to mean?" Maxine huffed, walking over to her team.

"I guess that leaves me with Aaron," Peter said, looking over at the sole person left.

Aaron nod, joining up with his team.

"Well, there you have it!" Chris eyed over the two teams, arms crossed. "Hmm... I've definitely seen worse! Now, for names!"

"Oh, oh! Can we be the bears? Or wolves, or somethin' cool?" Maya asked, excitedly.

"Hey! We should be the wolves!" Shelbi huffed, shooting her a glare.

"No one is the wolves!" Chris told them, shaking his head. "Because I already picked team names for all of you! Maya, your team... is the _Fancy Ferrets_!"

Everyone was silent.

"The _what_?" She asked, jaw dropping.

"And Peter... you guys are the _Daring Ducks!_" Chris smirked.

"Oh. That's... something," Andy sighed, shaking his head in disapproval.

"The best names ever, that's for sure," Chris snickered to himself. "Well, that's it for today! Go ahead to the dining area, Chef Pierre is already working on lunch!... go on! Get out of here!"

The contestants began to disperse, chatting together as they headed back to camp. Rosella stayed, waiting for the crowd to thin out a bit. She spotted Aaron, walking toward him, arm extended.

"Aaron... I can't believe we're on different..." she began, but the boy jumped when he saw her, beginning to hurry away.

"Uh, gotta go, Rosella!" He called back, clearly not wanting to speak. "I'll... see you around camp!"

Rosella stared after him, eyes widening as she watched him run off. There was no mistaking it... he wanted nothing to do with her.

"Oh, you're Rosella, right?" A voice asked happily.  
She turned to see Leon approach, a smile on his face.  
"We're on the same team together!" he told her, placing an arm on her shoulder. "Glad to be working with you! Say, I was going to suggest we all sit together at lunch, get to know one another. What say you?"

Rosella stared at him, unsure what to say. He... really wanted to have lunch together? Aaron clearly wanted nothing to do with her... to ignore her attention, which she only gave out of affection. But Leon... here he was, being kind to her, treating her like an equal.

"...are you alright?" he asked as she stared awkwardly. "You've been staring a while now."

"Oh. Yes." She gave him a polite smile. She went silent again, before nodding. "I think I'd like that... very much."

_**To Be Continued...**_

* * *

(A/N: And there we have it folks! The end of our team building episodes! And the end of the safety zone. Yup, that's right. Next episode is an elimination, people! Be afraid, very afraid!

Also, for those wondering, figured I'd address the fear-factor-esque elements of the challenge. It wasn't a thing i set out to do with the inception of the challenge, just something that happened in the writing process. The scenario fit several competitor's fears very well, and I wanted to play that up. There won't be an actual fear factor episode this season. A couple reasons why- one, many of the contestants have fears that fit under the "existential" category, such as dying, being abandoned, forgotten, sexuality revealed, which is hard to incorporate into a challenge like this. They're completely fair and reasonable fears, but hard to work with from a literal, reality-television standpoint. The second is, I know i harp on and on about my last SYOC, but, the fear factor challenge I did in that was... not a fun experience. Sort of tainted by one or two people, but I won't bang on about it. Anyway!

Hope you guys enjoyed! Before I go though, I just want to post the full team lists here again, in an easy to read format for reference:

**Fancy Ferrets: Maya, Leon, Ash, Gael, Miriam, Mitsy, Maxine, Rosella, Simon**

**Daring Ducks: Peter, Aaron, Adam, Kyle, Andy, Shelbi, Felicity, Stephanie, Ingrid**

And that's all! You guys have a wonderful weekend!)


	7. Long time no see

Hey everyone, Max here. I know its been a while, and as I'm sure you've heard, I've had a lot going on in my personal life, and several months ago I very nearly made a mistake. I don't particularly feel comfortable going into the details yet, but I've had a lot of time on my hands lately. I'm getting help for things now, but I just sort of feel like I'm sitting on my hands, and I've felt the itch to write again. It might not be for a while, but, I was just posting this as a hypothetical. This story was still in its infancy when i stopped writing, so I was wondering if anyone would want to see it continued. Or if maybe anyone would be interested in a reboot- I could post what the intended results were here and start afresh. It's just some food for thought. It may happen, it may not, I just am curious as to what you guys think, or if you'd like to see this rebooted/brought back. I did still have a lot of ideas for things to write. What happened never had anything to do with this, or anything online, but at the same time I totally get how I could have blown it. Writing is and always will be for me a fun little escape. So, what do you think? Should I continue this, or simply reboot and move on- or just move on? I honestly don't mind whatever you guys think. Let me know. I also received a few well wishes from some of you while I was gone, to which I want to say thank you, as well as thank you to DarkLegate for making the announcement that I'd be leaving. I know it was a weird request, but I appreciate you honoring it. Well, hope you guys have a good night. I'm just going to relax and watch a movie for a bit, so if you want to pm me, feel free.


	8. Episode 5: Crocodile Rock, Pt 1

(A/N: Kept you waiting, didn't I?)

* * *

The big day had arrived. The day someone would be sent home, and it was almost all the contestants could think about as they woke up that morning, the mood a little more solemn than usual. For Stephanie in particular, this went double; she sat on the edge of her bed, quietly lacing up her shoes, an absent look on her face as the other girls chattered around her.

"What's got you all quiet?" Maya asked, stretching out as she passed by, headed toward the door. "Ain't you excited for our first _real _challenge? Or you afraid you'll end up losin' again~"

Stephanie glanced up at Maya, giving a light huff. The cowgirl was only teasing, really, but... in doing so she had inadvertently hit the nail on the head.  
"What? No!" Stephanie protest, turning back to her shoes, tightly pulling a knot. "I'm just... in focused mode, that's all! One-hundred percent focused!"

"That's good- you'll need it. Don't mean to brag, but _pretty _sure I picked the best team possible," Maya bragged, crossing her arms proudly. "All the muscle we got, no way, no how we're losin' today's challenge!"

Across the room, Felicity gave Maya a smile and a thumbs up. "Oh, it's good you're not nervous! I hope your team does well!"

"Ha! You bet I'm not nervous!" Maya smirked at Felicity, tilting her hat up slightly with her thumb. "I bet we're gonna pound your team out there today!"

Felicity nodded cheerfully. "Oh! Well, in that case, we're going to have to really try our best!"

Maya tilt her head, looking dumbfounded. "Yeah, well... you better not try, 'cause... uh... it won't do you no good, y'hear!"

"Well, I hope the best team wins either way!" Felicity shrugged, un-phased.

* * *

**CONFESSIONAL: MAYA**

_I... what? What's the point in trash talkin' if the other guy just sits there and takes it?! Pffft. Between Stephanie and Felicity, doesn't look like there's ANY competition out there today!_

**CONFESSIONAL: STEPHANIE**

_Okay, so the whole cave thing really threw me off my game last time! I really gotta get my head into it. My team is counting on me, and I can't let them down. I was the first round pick, so I have to find a way to live up to that!_

**CONFESSIONAL: FELICITY**

_So far Total Drama has been a lot of fun, I'm really making new friends here!_

**END CONFESSIONALS**

* * *

Misty let out a groan, pulling her pillow over her ears. "Will you guys keep it down? I'm trying to sleep over here!"

"Sleep? How can you still be sleeping?" Maxine asked, flabbergasted. She was already dressed and out of bed, and in fact, was the first girl to have done so. "BREAKFAST is ready! The most important meal of the day?! Besides brunch, lunch, and dinner, anyway!"

Mitsy rolled her eyes, rolling over so her back was facing the rest of the contestants. "Oh yeah. Really looking forward to another frozen microwave meal for breakfast."

"Well, it isn't so bad! At least Pierre makes a lot of it!" Maxine sat on the edge of Mitsy's bed, grinning. "And you can't win on an empty stomach!"

"Ugh. Who caaaaaaares?" Mitsy kicked at Maxine, annoyed. "_I'M _not going to be the first one home, so I'm not stressing."

Maxine huffed. "Attitude like that, I wouldn't be so sure. That's a bit cocky, don't you think?"

At this, Mitsy lifted her head, shooting Maxine a glare. "Why is it that if a girl like me shows a _little _confidence, people say it's arrogance?" Mitsy flopped back down on the bed, shutting her eyes tightly. "Excuse me for having faith in myself. Now really, _stop talking _or I will actually smother you with this pillow."

"Eh, forget her," Maya waved a hand dismissively in their direction. "I know I'm gonna grab somethin' to eat. C'mon, Maxine!"

"Already there!" Maxine grinned back, the two heading out.

As the girls continued to prepare, Ingrid cast a curious look around. "Hey, where's Shelbi?"

* * *

"Oh man. That's the best sleep I think I've ever had." Andy let out a yawn, rubbing his eyes as he sat up in bed. "I don't know how they manage it over in the girl's cabin, but this is the most comfortable bed I've ever been in."

"Forget that- have you _been_ in the bathroom?" Simon grinned, poking his head out from the doorway. "Heated. Seats. There's even a hot tub in there! Err, doesn't seem to be working, but I'm on that!"

On the floor next to his bed, Leon was doing push ups, pausing to look over at the two. "Ngh... how can you two think of such things? It's our first team challenge today!" Leon did one more, before standing up and dusting himself off, a smile on his face. "Are you not excited? Our first real challenge of the season!"

"Somehow I didn't think to get excited about elimination," Andy yawned, slipping out of bed and stretching out.

"Ahh, all part of the game!" Leon gave him an- unintentionally- hard pat on the back. "We all have to go sometime! May as well enjoy the competition until then!"

Simon stared at Leon, brow raised. "...nahhhhh, I'll enjoy the bathroom until then. Wait, no, that sounded weird. Wait, no... don't care!" With that, he disappeared from the doorway.

"Well... I'll see you all at the dining hall," Gael murmured. The young man was already dressed, quickly slipping out of the door before a word could be said.

"Wait, Gael, do you-" Leon began, stopping when the door closed. "...ah, he'll warm up! Probably!"

Across the room, Peter himself had just finished getting ready. "Well, Leon has a point. It will be interesting to see how our teams perform. Though, I admit I'm a _little _nervous. We're on TV, after all..." He headed toward the other side of the room. He stopped near the door, frowning as he stumbled upon a patch of floor that sounded... off. "Huh. That's odd." Peter frowned, tapping his foot on the floorboard.

"Hm? What's that?" Kyle asked, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

Peter didn't answer immediately. "This floor sounds hollow," he remarked, taking a step back.

"Huh? Really?" Adam, who was across the room, perked up. He slid out of bed, making his way over. "Maybe a secret passage? A hidden basement?"

"Uhhhh, if its hidden, maybe we shouldn't mess around with it," Aaron murmured, looking over the area warily. "It could be for a reason..."

"Oh, come on. Where's the adventure in that?" Adam asked, nudging Aaron playfully.

"That is kind of weird though." Curious, Andy couldn't help but make his way over. "What do you think it-"  
Andy was cut off when, after taking a step next to Peter, the floor abruptly gave way, the skater plummeting downward. He let out a frightened yelp, followed by a thud, followed by silence, followed by a relieved sigh. "It's okay guys, I'm fi- OW SOMETHING BIT ME GET ME OUT-"

"Andy? You alright?" Kyle hopped out of bed, quickly peering over into the hole. "What's going on?!"

"Something's down there?" Peter leaned back, eyes wide. "What's... I can't quite see..."

"Uh oh... maybe its a bear?" Aaron gulped, slowly backing away and sitting on his bed.

By now, a crowd had gathered around the hole, murmuring and trying to figure out how to get Andy out... as well as what could be down there with him. Luckily, though, received their answer soon enough.

"Oh, Shelbi is sorry!" a familiar voice called. "You really shouldn't have snuck up on her like that!"

* * *

A short while passed, and everyone had migrated to the dining hall. Andy was currently sat back in a corner seat, leg propped up on a chair as Ash examined him, Shelbi, Kyle, and Adam nearby.

"Well, I'm really more into the pulled tendons and muscle strain sort of thing," Ash frowned, looking him over. "Good news is, though, doesn't look like anything broke skin. You'll probably have a bit of bruising though, maybe some soreness. I don't think it'll be too bad."

"Well, that's a relief," Andy muttered, rubbing his shoulder. "I'll be okay for the challenge, right?"

"Uh... again, I'm not really a licensed physician or anything," Ash shrugged. "Buuuuut I think you're okay. Well... second thought, that leg looks like it might get infected. I think you might have to amputate if it gets worse. Stop the spreading."

"...what?!" Andy sat up straight, eyes widening.

Ash grinned, shaking his head. "Kidding, kidding! You're fine."

"But here's what I want to know. Why were you even under our cabin?" Kyle asked curiously, turning to Shelbi and crossing his arms. His tone was less scolding, and more bemusedly curious. "Was sleeping under the girls cabin not comfortable enough?"

"Well, Shelbi was used to sleeping in dens when she was a pup!" she answered apologetically. "So when she found the nice one under your cabin, she couldn't resist!"

"Wait. You mean you didn't make that den yourself?" Adam asked, taken aback.

"No! Shelbi has made some pret-ty nice dens, but not ones that nice!" she hummed, shaking her head. "Whoever made that has been making dens here for a while!"

Kyle glanced over at the other boys. "Well, that's mildly concerning."

"Well, it could just be an animal that was there and then moved on, right?" Andy suggested. "I mean, it's not super concerning. Yet."

Adam held a hand to his chin, lost in thought. "Hmm... interesting."

* * *

**CONFESSIONAL: ADAM**

_Mysterious tunnels underneath the boys cabin, huh? This is like something out of Indiana Jones! I totally have to scope this out later, if I get the chance. Maybe someone on my team would be willing to come with me._

**END CONFESSIONAL**

* * *

Soon enough, Chef Pierre's staff was making the rounds, serving breakfast.

"Ah-hon-hon! And, your meal for zis morning, ze egg and ze sausage breakfast sandwich!" Pierre grinned, giving an exaggerated bow. "Mon specialty! Good appetite- or as zey say in MON language; _beau pantalon!_"

Mitsy rolled her eyes, lifting a soggy bun off of her sandwich. "Blech. Like I said. Frozen."

Chef Pierre's eyes narrowed, glaring at Mitsy, slowly sinking behind the kitchen counter.

"That guy is such a creep," Mitsy muttered, forcing herself to take a bite, nose wrinkling.

"Oh, its not so bad!" Maxine spoke between mouthfuls of food. "At least there's a lot of it. Though, that guy does look a bit familiar. Wonder if he's one of those famous TV chefs?"

Mitsy rolled her eyes. "If he's a famous tv _anything_, I'm the empress of China."

The campers continued to chat and eat, everyone having sat with their teams today instead of sitting by gender. The exception, of course, being those who were currently tending to Andy. Back by the Ferrets table, Leon was happily eating his breakfast and chatting away, when he accidentally spilled a bit of his drink.

"Oh, whoops! Clumsy of me." He went to go reach for a napkin, but to his surprise, Rosella leaned in almost as soon as the drink spilled, cleaning it up for him. He stared, a bit surprised, before cracking a wide smile. "Thank you, Rosella! Nice of you to look out for your team, hm?"

Rosella gave a soft smile back, bowing her head slowly. "I just wanted to help you after the kindness you showed me. That's all... may I get you another drink?"

"That's very nice of you, but there's no need..." Leon attempted to wave the offer away, reaching for the cup himself, but Rosella quickly snatched it up, scurrying off with it. "Uh... hrm. She's very helpful."

Simon grinned, nudging him. "Pfft, helpful. She totally has a thing for you!"

"Nonsense!" Leon shook his head. "She's just helping out a fellow teammate, I'm sure! I'd do the same for you all!"

Simon smirked, casually lifting a finger, poking his glass... and pushing it over, spilling its contents on the table. "Whoops. Mind helping a fellow teammate~?"

Leon frowned, his brow furrowing. "...I think you may have done that on purpose. But still! I'm not one to turn down a teammate in need of help!" He grabbed a wad of napkins, beginning to clean up.

Across the table, Miriam rolled her eyes. "I guess I know who to call when I need some laundry done, then."

* * *

**CONFESSIONAL: MIRIAM**

_I'm not thrilled about my team so far. Leon is strong, but not the brightest. Ash is friendly enough but needs a cane, so he might hold us back. Rosella is creepy, Simon is annoying, Gael is at least quiet. Don't get me started on Mitsy, or I'll be here all day. Like I've said, I'm not here to make friends, but I need to at least trust this team to get it done- at least until the merge. Then, whatever happens, happens._

**END CONFESSIONAL**

* * *

The door swung open dramatically, Chris swaggering in with a smile on his face. The host looked a bit tired, like he had been up all night, but he had a bounce in his step that was unmistakable.  
"Gooooooood morning, campers!" He stopped in the center of the cafeteria, looking around, taking his time to eye everyone over. "Boy, am I excited today! And do you know why?"

Felicity raised a hand. "Because it's-"

"Yeah, no." Chris held up a palm to her face. "That was rhetorical. I'm happy because it's the first elimination challenge... and officially where things take a turn for the drama! When you all start to lie, manipulate, backstab, sabotage, do anything your cold, conniving hearts can think of to get ahead! I dunno, maybe some hook-ups or smooching or stuff, but look, I'm more interested in the drama, because drama means ratings!"

"So what's the first challenge?" Maya asked, a bit impatient. "C'mon, we all wanna know!"

"Ah-buh-buh. You'll see soon enough." Chris waved away the question with a shake of his hand. "Because, what I need you to do first is go back to your cabins and change into your swimsuits. Finish eating, do that, and meet me outside in... fifteen minutes! We're on the clock people!"

The contestants all began to scramble, finishing their breakfast and piling toward the door.

* * *

**CONFESSIONAL: MAYA**

_Am I nervous? Pffft. Heck naw! Gettin' to show off my swimsuit AND win the first team challenge at the same time? That's what I call a good day!_

**CONFESSIONAL: STEPHANIE**

_Some kinda water challenge, huh? Okay. I can do this. Time to buckle down and prove to my team that I deserve to be here!_

**CONFESSIONAL: SIMON**

_Oh boy, I hope we don't run in to any... rough waters out there. Huh? Huuuuuuuh?_

**END CONFESSIONALS**

* * *

Fifteen minutes passed, and Chris watched as the contestants began to filter in one by one in their swimsuits. They were almost as colorful a cast as they were in their regular wear. Some were fairly simple- Gael for example wore a pair of red shorts with black strings, now showing off the yin-yang cat tattoo he had on his chest. Peter's trunks were black with green numbers, Maxine a black one piece that was torn at the front so as to expose her stomach. Stephanie had on a plain white bikini and matching sandals; Mitsy's bikini was a similar style, but a light shade of pink with a pair of round sunglasses sat on her nose. Andy's trunks were a plain black, Kyle's a dark blue, Aaron's in blue and white. Felicity wore a cute cyan and white bikini with a duck icon on the top, and Ingrid had on a frilly, black two-piece with pink and white polka-dots. Ever the movie fanatic, Adam's swim trunks were adorned with a picture of Jaws, everyone's favorite aquatic menace. Ash kept up his sporty appearance with a pair of red trunks, and a red and white rash-guard.

Some of the other outfits were a bit more on the varied side; Leon with his midnight blue and orange rash-guard, a deep blue swimsuit and black goggles. Simon had on bright blue trunks with flowers of red, yellow and white, topped off with an "I'm With Stupid" t-shirt. Miriam's garb was a navy blue and white tankini top and low rise, belted bottoms, Rosella a tasseled, yellow bohemian bikini. Perhaps strangest of all was Shelbi, who... wore the same exact outfit as always, but the line-up was finished with Maya, in a skimpy cowprint bikini.

"Hoo-ee! You two got some muscle on ya, huh?" Maya smirked, slipping between Leon and Ash. "I like your bathin' suits. Whatcha think of mine~?"

"The cow print suits you well!" Leon smiled, nodding obliviously, Ash just chuckling and shaking his head. Rosella, who was watching from nearby, frowned, eyes narrowing as she watched Maya intently.

Chris tapped his foot impatiently, glaring them over. "_There _you all are. Took you guys forever!"

"But... we're on time," Peter pointed out, frowning a little. "You gave us twenty minutes-"

"Excuses, excuses! We're behind enough as it is!" Chris interjected, cutting him off. "Just follow me! Daylight is burning!"

The host turned, strolling off; Kyle gave Peter a pat on the back, amused.

"Best not to argue with him, amigo," he mused, before following after.

Chris led the cast down a long, winding dirt path that cut through overgrown grass and tangled weeds. The ground began to turn muddy, a few of the campers grimacing as they were forced to walk through what quickly transformed into a dingy swampland that looked completely out of place from the rest of the island.

"Gross... this isn't exactly what you'd want to see on a resort island," Andy muttered, waving a few bugs away.

"Well, maybe not what you'd want, but it ties right into our next challenge!" Chris came to a halt in front of a large, almost perfectly circular pond. "Welcome, to the pool of... you know, I'm not really sure what this was supposed to be attraction-wise. I mean, hanging out in a swamp? No idea who pays for that. But its not super important why it was built... so much as what was left IN it," Chris grinned. "I like to call today's challenge, 'Unholy Diver'! In the pond, we've attached four rods into the wall on either side, eight in all, four for each team. On each rod, we've got weights hanging, each worth a number of points. The weights on the first rod are worth one point, the ones on the second rod are worth five points, the ones on the third are worth ten, and the ones on the last rod are- boom! Ninety points!"

"Ninety? But... that would almost guarantee a win," Peter noted. "I assume there's a catch?"

Chris shot him an annoyed glare. "Of course there is! There's always a catch, its reality TV! See, for this challenge, obviously your team has to earn the most points. You'll be split off into groups of two, one person from each team, diving in pairs. Meaning, say, Ingrid and Rosella would be paired off and dive down at the same time for their teams. Now, you can only grab _one _ring per dive. If you try to grab two, you'll be deducted the highest value from your score. Now _this _is the catch. Getting the one point ring is relatively safe... but the further down you go, the more, we'll say hurdles, you'll have to go through!"

Maya was beginning to eye the water warily. "...liiiike what?"

"Oh, you know! Electric eels, underwater min- you know, lemme stop right there!" Chris snickered. "Be _much _more fun for you to figure it out yourselves! Right? Who doesn't like surprises!"

* * *

**CONFESSIONAL: MAYA**

_Was I nervous? Of course not! Why would I be? I just... didn't think the challenge would involve fish and all sortsa underwater beasties. Am I afraid of fish? Pfffft! Naw! I'm just... don't trust 'em, that's all! Swimmin' around bein' all freaky- I mean, bein' all... untrustworthy! But no, definitely not scared! Easy challenge, ha-ha!_

**END CONFESSIONAL**

* * *

"So!" Chris continued. "All that's left to do is pair you up and decide the order you'll be going in, which, lucky for you, I've already done! So, in order, our divers will be...  
Shelbi and Gael, Andy and Simon, Felicity and Maxine, Kyle and Miriam, Adam and Mitsy, Ingrid and Ash, Aaron and Leon, Stephanie and Rosella, and finally, in the interest of maximizing drama, are the team captains Peter and Maya!"

"Interesting pairs. This should be a fun match!" Leon grinned, pounding his chest with one hand. In response, Chris began laughing, nearly doubled over. Leon's smile faded, looking concerned. "...what? What did I say?"

"Oh man, you have a lot to learn," Chris wheezed in between hysterics. "But, hey! We're all set to begin, so get in line, and let's get this challenge started, baby! Shelbi and Gael, you're up first! Crazy wolf lady versus crazy cat guy; a match made in heaven!"

Gael and Shelbi stepped up to the pond, the former giving her a nod of acknowledgement. "Um... let's have a good round," he said, leaning toward the edge.

"Of course! Shelbi has to warn you, though, she's an excellent swimmer!" she grinned, and then proceeded to rip off her shirt, a sports bra underneath.

Gael blinked, eyes widening as he cheeks tinged red. "Uhhhhhhhh..."

"And... go!" Chris ordered, chopping the air between the two.  
Gael and Shelbi both dove in, disappearing below the surface of the water. Both fairly fit and agile, they easily made it past the one point mark, and to the five- Gael debating if he should do the safe thing and go for five points, but deciding to press on when he saw Shelbi dive past. He didn't have the chance to, however; neither did. A huge shadow emerged from the depths of the pond, covered in slimy, crooked scales and bearing maws lined with cracked, yellowed teeth. Dead, reptilian eyes fixed their gaze on the two contestants. It opened its mouth slightly, bubbles flowing from between crooked teeth, eyes lighting up a sickening green. Shelbi and Gael did the only thing they could- turning, and breaking for the surface. The two emerged from the water, panting and gasping as they scrambled back up on land, their teammates helping to pull them up.

"Great job, what did you- wait, you didn't get any rings?" Peter asked, flummoxed, glancing between the two. "_Neither_ of you?"

"We couldn't... there was..." Gael stammered, coughing a bit. He didn't need to continue though; a moment later, a massive alligator reared its ugly visage from beneath the surface of the waves, water splashing all of the contestants as it let out a horrible, static-filled scream. More screaming followed after this, only this time, it was the contestants, each of them scrambling to get away from the water.

"_Que es esa cosa?_" Kyle stumbled backward, nearly knocking over Felicity, who had been standing behind him. Felicity froze up, eyeing the thing in quiet terror, Maya letting out a horrified scream.

"M-monster!" Maxine gasped, leaping away, Aaron following suit and ducking behind some trees.

The panic began to subside, however, when everyone realized the beast wasn't leaving the pool. Nor did it move at all. It simply floated there, staring at the cast with glowing eyes. Ingrid tilt her head, slowly approaching the pool when she realized it wasn't going to come after them.

"Huh. It's kind of cool," she remarked, picking up a nearby stick and prodding at the gator's nose. "It reminds me of the robots they used in jaws. I always liked when the monster wasn't just CG." She smiled, offering the twig to Felicity. "Here, want to poke it?"

Felicity, still shaking, slowly shook her head. "N-n-n-n-no thanks," she managed to stammer, eyes not leaving the thing.

"Oh, I'll poke it!" Stephanie smiled, taking the stick and beginning to jab at the beast.

Simon let out a relieved sigh, shaking his head. "Wonder what its problem is. Croc got its tongue?"

"Shut up Simon," Mitsy snapped, putting her sunglasses back on. They had fallen off after the initial scare caused her to fall backward on to Maxine.

"Okay, that one was forced," Simon agreed with a shrug.

Stephanie gave it one more poke, before taking a step back. "Well, I guess it isn't so bad after all!"

Her tone changed, yelping a bit as the gator's mouth slowly opened, fog rolling out from behind its teeth. Once the smoke had dissipated, a speaker crackled from the alligator's throat, a familiar voice heard cackling.  
"Gooootcha!" Franz snickered, sounding incredibly pleased with himself. "C'mon. Did you guys forget about little old me?"

"Didn't forget. Just didn't expect you'd be, you know. Some horrible, scaly abomination," Andy remarked, still wary.

Chris sighed, crossing his arms. "I WISH I could forget."

"Well, don't. It would be in your best interest to keep me in mind during the challenge," Franz hummed. "See, I'm not just restricted to immobile ferret statues. I'm in the control room, baby. I get all the best toys back here, full access." The alligator slowly began to swim around, circling the pond. "Yeah, not sure why this horrifying thing was in a kid's park. Some kinda Peter Pan thing, maybe, who knows. But no way am I gonna let it go to waste."

"Great. How are we supposed to get anything done with THAT down there?" Mitsy asked.

"Don't worry. Couldn't resist the early scare, but I'm just gonna hang out near the bottom. Or will I?" Franz taunted. "...naaaah, I will. No fun if you guys didn't have _any _chance. So... see you down there!"

Franz' laughter could be heard as the alligator sank below the surface, disappearing from sight.

* * *

**CONFESSIONAL: MAYA**

_N-nervous? Haha... no... not at... not at all..._

**END CONFESSIONAL**

* * *

"Well, don't like the guy, but gotta admit, that was a pretty good entrance." Chris turned to the crew, a grin cracking across his face. "But hey! you two may have wasted the round, but at least it was even. The teams are tied up, zero-zero."

"What? We don't even get do-overs?" Peter asked, shocked.

"Nope! No do-overs for losers!" Chris hummed. "Scores are zero-zero, like I said! But, you have the chance to change that up pretty soon. After all, Simon and Andy are up next."

The two boys stepped up, looking over at each other.  
"May the best man win!" Simon said, extending his hand to shake. "As long as the best man is me, I mean!"

"We'll see," Andy smiled, taking a breath as he looked back at the water.

* * *

**CONFESSIONAL: ANDY**

_As the first person to go for my team... er, the first person to have a fair shot, anyway, I was a little on edge. Gotta earn my keep and all, right?_

**CONFESSIONAL: MIRIAM**

_I can't stand that Franz guy. Taking control of all these creepy robots, using some kind of mecha-gator to terrorize us? Well, he's not going to throw me off my game!_

**CONFESSIONAL: ADAM**

_Well, this challenge just got more exciting. It's like I'm in my own horror movie. I just gotta hope I'm not the first one killed off. Err, metaphorically. I hope._

**CONFESSIONAL: ASH**

_You know, I used to be a really good swimmer in my day. But, weird as it may seem, never gone up against a robot alligator, that's actually a first for me. Crazy, right?_

**CONFESSIONAL: INGRID**

_I don't know. I thought it was kind of cute._

**END CONFESSIONALS**

* * *

Chris leaned forward, holding a hand up in the air. "On your marks... get set... GO!"

The two boys dove forward, disappearing beneath the surface of the pond. Somewhere, down in the abyss, two eyes shone like emeralds, watching their every move.

_**To Be Continued...**_

* * *

(A/N: First of all, wow. Over the past week or two, I've talked with so many of you via PM, and the response I've gotten toward bringing Lost Island back was amazing. Thank you guys so much for your support. This chapter turned out different than I thought, in that I actually specifically planned for this NOT to be a two parter. But, with what I have, and what I have planned, I made the decision to wrap it up here. The second part will come soon, I promise, and we'll FINALLY have an elimination. I will say i apologize if the part describing everyone's swimwear was a bit rushed. I didn't want to take too long on everyone's outfit, otherwise this may have been a three parter. Kidding. Mostly. I'd rather just take more time on dialogue, anyway. On that note, I DID take most of the descriptions, somewhat verbatim from their respective applications, so... partial credit for this chapter goes to all of you! :p Well, I hope you enjoyed. I'll try to have the second update out soon. I think that's about it for now. Oh, anyone gonna play/are playing the new Fire Emblem DLC? Hyped for that! Well, have a good week you guys, see you soon!)


	9. Episode 6: Crocodile Rock, Pt 2

(A/N: So, before we start, I just want you guys to know I may vanish soon. I'm fine, before any of you ask- but it turns out my computer is NOT fine. Lately I've been getting one or two disc read errors on boot, which isn't a great sign. For those of you who aren't too computer savvy, basically it looks like my current hard drive is on a timer. How long is that timer? Well... not really sure. When your hard drive starts to go, it can be a matter of days, week, months- technically, it could last me another year or so. I won't really know when it'll kick the bucket until it actually does. That saiiiiid, my birthday is around the corner. I'm gonna try and hold off until then in case I get a little extra birthday dough, then upgrade to an SSD. So if I go quiet at some point, just PM me. I'll be able to access my inbox on my phone, but... I'm not going to try and update the story on mobile XD. Sorry, I think that would murder my thumbs. But yeah! Just wanted to throw that out there in case my hard drive cruds out and I'm unable to update for a couple of weeks. Some more announcements to come at the end of the chapter... but for now? It's finally time for the first elimination of the season. All downhill from here. Maybe uphill? Matter of perspective. Enjoy!)

* * *

Andy and Simon dove.  
The surface of the water broke, splashing the contestants surrounding the pond, chilling them to the bone as the two boys disappeared beneath the surface of the water. Their silhouettes became fainter, and fainter, before disappearing from sight altogether, at the mercy of whatever waited beneath the waves. Shelbi and Gael had hardly scratched the surface on their go, after all, so other than knowing Franz lurked somewhere below the surface, they were going in blind.

Felicity peered over at the pond, still a bit shaky from the close encounter the competitors had all shared. "I hope Andy is okay down there. Who knows what else could be in the water..."

Mitsy scoffed, eyes rolling. "All I know is Simon better come back with one of those rings, or he can just drown for all I care."

Felicity let out a gasp. "Mitsy!"

"Oh, what. I'm kidding," the blonde scowled. "...mostly."

* * *

**CONFESSIONAL: ANDY**

_So, scores tied up at nothing, and I'm the first person from my team to go. Well... first to have a chance, anyway. First challenge of the game where there's elimination, so... yeah. You could say I was feeling the pressure. Just a little. You know._

**CONFESSIONAL: SIMON**

_Pressure? Nahhh. I guess you could say it's pretty smooth sail... nooo, that one doesn't work. I need to think of more water-related puns. Okay, NOW I'm feeling the pressure._

**END CONFESSIONAL**

* * *

The two boys swam past the one point markers easily- not even thinking of going for the small fry. It was the first go, and Andy especially wanted to make it count with an early lead. As they made their way down, though, they began to notice outlines snaking through the water, wriggling and thrashing toward them. Eels. Andy grimaced, swimming away from one, only for another to brush against his back, sending a shock through his body. He twitched and jerked, kicking around, Simon noticing this from across the pond. Instead of going through the eels, Simon stuck to the wall, grabbing the five point ring and swimming back toward the surface. Andy began to cough and splutter. Running out of air, he kicked his feet rapidly toward his team's rings, earning a few more shocks in the process. He reached out, grabbing desperately... finally wrapping his fingers around one of the rings. He yanked it off, clutching it tightly as he made toward the surface, gasping in relief as he emerged. He began to cough a bit, hands beginning to reach down to help him out of the water.

"You alright man?" Kyle asked, pulling him up on land. "Ouch... you've got a lot marks on your body."

Andy looked down- sure enough, there were several red, suspiciously eel-shaped blotches covering his skin. "Electric eels," he responded, shuddering. "Careful down there."

"Aw, you shouldn't have told them," Simon hummed, handing his ring to Chris as Andy did the same. "it would have been such a SHOCK!"

A few of the competitors groaned, Chris included. "That was bad, Simon, and I'll thank you to leave the wisecracks to me," the host grunt. He took the rings, looking them over. "Well well well, looks like we're still tied- five and five, Ducks and Ferrets! I didn't see that coming, but it looks like that means things will stay interesting for a little longer."

"Sorry about that," Andy sighed, turning toward his team. "Wanted to go for a ten, but I took a couple shocks and had to come back up."

"Eh, no es gran cosa." Kyle shrugged it off with an absent smile. "Still tied up, and you did let us know what was down there. I'd say that's kind of a win."

"Well... some of what was down there," Felicity gulped, looking more than a tad nervous.

Chris looked over at the girl, snickering to himself. "Scared? You totally should be- especially since you're up next!" There was a note of sadistic glee in his voice as he waved Felicity toward the pond. "Felicity, Maxine, you two are up! Time to show your teams what you're made of. Hopefully, it's not... chicken. Bok-bok!"

Felicity, frowned, looking away, but Maxine just smiled, patting her stomach. "Well, I dunno. You are what you eat, right?" she said. "And I do eat a lot of chicken! And steak. And burgers. Hotdogs. And pies, cakes, eggs-"

"Yeah, yeah, already regretting the remark," the host sighed, shaking his head. "On three. One... two... GO!"

Maxine leapt into the water, seemingly without hesitation. Felicity, however, remained glued to the spot.

"Uh, Felicity? I said GO." Chris tapped his foot, annoyed. "Am I gonna have to push you in?"

"I... I..." Felicity stammered, staring into the water.

Ingrid slowly reached out, placing a hand on Felicity's shoulder. "Hey, it'll be fine. Just grab one of the first rings or something. You won't even see that robot-crocodile thing."

Felicity turned to Ingrid, still looking unsure. "Do you really think so? Won't the team be mad if I don't g-get a lot of p-points?"

"Of course not!" Kyle assured her. "Just do your best, and-"

The touching moment came to an abrupt close, however, when Chris casually shoved Felicity into the water. She let out a surprised yelp, falling beneath the surface, the Ducks turning and glaring at Chris.

"Come on man! What was that for?" Andy scowled.

"Pfft. You guys are supposed to be the DARING Ducks, not the... um... I dunno, what starts with 'd' and means cowardly?" Chris scratched his head, struggling to think of a word.

"Diffident?" Peter offered, adjusting his glasses.

Chris shook his head. "Peter, stop making words up."

Peter frowned. "But, I didn't-"

Chris crossed his arms, annoyed. "Okay then, Mr. Weisenheimer. If you're just going to give me nonsense words, then why don't we just change your team name to the Diffident Ducks for the rest of the season, then?"

"Uh... well, that isn't really necessary-" Peter tried, but Chris quickly spoke over him.

"No no, Mr. Team Captain. _Diffident _Ducks it is!" The host rolled his eyes, giving an exaggerated sigh. "Pfft. You kids and your made up words."

Down in the water, things were... surprisingly unbalanced. Slowly but steadily, Maxine was making her way deep down, passing the one point, then the five point rings, managing to avoid the eels, and steadily approaching the ten point rings... but her mind was going even beyond that.

* * *

**CONFESSIONAL: MAXINE**

_Now, you might think I'm a bad swimmer just because of my weight... buuuut all that experience in competitive eating has really helped me in holding my breath! I might not be the most graceful, but I can totally make it down to the ninety point rings, you watch!_

**END CONFESSIONAL**

* * *

Further and further down, the ten point rings were finally coming into view for Maxine. It almost seemed like it would be easy, until she caught something making a beeline for her out of the corner of her eye. She turned her head, eyes widening- a barracuda torpedoing toward her. She tried to scramble away, darting toward the rings, then off to the side, but unable to move quick enough. The barracuda's mouth opened impossibly wide, sinking its teeth into her leg. She let out a yelp, water flowing into her mouth, coughing and gagging as she hurried up toward the surface, the barracuda holding on firmly.  
Back near the top, Felicity was just swimming down, heart thumping in her chest. She tried to force herself to calm down, wondering if she could maybe make it to the five point ring, when she saw a large shadow swim up past her. She flailed backward, quickly grabbing a one point ring, and retreating to the surface. Felicity emerged at the same time as Maxine; the key difference being, while Andy and Ingrid were ready and waiting to help Felicity up, Maxine frantically climbed up on the ground, shaking her leg wildly.

"Off off off off off!" she cried, the barracuda flopping around, before releasing, falling back into the water and swimming beneath the murk. Maxine held up her leg, looking it over. Thankfully, the thing hadn't broken skin, but it was still a throbbing red. "Owwwww! What was that thing?!"

Chris grinned, looking remarkably pleased with himself. "Oh, I have no idea! We just spent like, four or five figures to send people out into the ocean, have them find fish with teeth and dump them in this pond! Pretty great, right?"

Maxine huffed, standing up. "No! I wasn't even able to get a ring after that thing got a hold of me..."

"Um.. I got a ring!" Felicity spoke up, handing Chris her's.

"Well... I'm surprised again," Chris admit, taking the ring. "...only worth one point, but better than nothing, I guess. That means Felicity just took the lead for the Diffident Ducks, with a six-five lead!"

Felicity looked stunned. "Wait... I did? I got the lead?"

"You did! See, we told you it wouldn't be so bad," Ingrid smiled.

Maxine sighed, rubbing the back of her neck. "Oh man... sorry guys," she mumbled, heading toward the back of the line.

"Ah, no worries!" Leon told her. "You were only the third up, and only a one point lead! Plenty of time to recover!"

Miriam rolled her eyes, giving Leon a disapproving look. "Right, because that's what we need on our team. More zeroes."

"Hey- I did my best," Maxine frowned. "The lead isn't too bad, we can still win this."

"We don't need excuses," Miriam countered. "We _need _points. Just go sit down and I'll show you how its done."

Maxine huffed, about to retort, but Miriam had already headed off, approaching the pond at the same time as Kyle. Maxine shook her head, grumbling a bit, about to hang out at the back of the line when she noticed Gael sitting on a log nearby.

"Hey!" she greeted cheerily, taking a spot next to him. "Mind if I join you?"

"Oh, um, I guess not," Gael agreed, sliding to the other side of the log, though he sounded hesitant. Despite having ample room, Maxine choose to sit right by him, anyway.

"Looks like we both came up short, huh?" she remarked. "Well, its not a big deal. Our team is still pretty good, I bet we can manage to win!"

Gael shrugged, quiet for a while. "Maybe."

Maxine raised an eyebrow, a bit taken back by his shyness. "What? Don't think we can manage?"

"Well, maybe," Gael said again, despondent. "We'll just have to wait and see. But if we can't do it, then..."

Maxine nodded. "You think one of us might be sent home, huh? Yeah. That's what I was worried about too... but cheer up! It's not over until it's over, right?"  
Gael shrugged. Maxine frowned, before continuing. "Well... until then, hey. Maybe us losers can keep each other company!"

* * *

**CONFESSIONAL: GAEL**

_I'm not feeling great about my stay here, so far. I've come up short in each of the challenges so far, and... truth is, I came here to meet people, but I'm having a hard time doing that too. It's just... hard socializing. Especially after a loss like that. I really have to get my head back in things. If I stick around, I guess._

**END CONFESSIONAL**

* * *

Back at the pond, both Miriam and Kyle were in place, awaiting their turn.

"Everybody ready?" Chris asked.

Kyle turned to Miriam, cracking a smile. "Hey, good luck."  
Miriam just rolled her eyes.

"And... one... two... THREE!" Chris shouted.

The two dove into the water gracefully, more so than the previous contestants had- both having something of an athletic background. They easily swam past the one point mark. Then the five point. Then ten point was approaching. As they made their way past the eels, they noticed the barracuda darting through the water. It seemed unsure about which of them to go after, both slipping past as a result, well on their way to the next rungs.

On the surface, Chris checked his watch. "Huh. They've both been down there a while. They might be on their way to discovering the next surprise."  
A malicious grin spread across his lips, laughing to himself as he leaned over to peer into the water. "That's right... the mi-"

Of course, the two competitors heard none of this, not aware of any more impending obstacles. Right as they reached the rings, they saw them. Floating in the water, lurking, waiting; more terrible than anything they could imagine.  
Underwater mimes.

Kyle and Miriam exchanged a glance, each as confused as the other. The mimes shared no such confusion. There were three of them in total; dressed in your typical striped mime garb, with a water tank on their back and a breather on their face, their pant seemingly water proof. The three gestured quickly, almost conversationally toward each other. The marine mummers shared a nod, turning to the two contestants. They reached for their hips, and, horrifyingly, withdrew harpoon guns, taking aim. That was all Kyle and Miriam needed to incentivise a break toward the surface.

The two emerged with a gasp, pulling themselves up on land as the mimes poked their heads out; their hollow, creepy, but probably human eyes laser focused on the two.

For once, though, Chris seemed as disturbed as the contestants. "_GREAT BALLS OF FIRE WHAT IN GOD'S NAME ARE THOSE?_"

An intern, small and weaselly, approached Chris, nerves as plain on his face as his eyes were. "Uh... the underwater-mimes you requested, s-s-sir-"

"MIMES?! Underwater MIMES?!" Chris demanded. "I said MINES, you idiot! Why in the world would I ask for underwater MIMES?! That's unnatural and doesn't make any sense!"  
He snatched the clipboard from the intern's head, whacking him over the head with it. "Get out of here, shoo, get lost! You're fired!"  
The intern held up his hands defensively, before turning, and running off. Chris groaned, turning to the two. "Okay, just... what do we have here, ten and ten?" He asked, still clearly perturbed. "Well... alright. Still close, but it looks like the Ducks maintain a one point lead- sixteen to fifteen!"

Each competitor headed back to their respective line- Kyle receiving high fives from Andy and Ingrid, Miriam simply giving her team a cocky smile.

"That's how its done," she said confidently.

Mitsy scoffed, brushing hair out of her eyes. "So what. You're not that big of a deal just because you got us ten points, you know."

Miriam paused on her way to the back of the line, turning to face Mitsy. "What? Think you can manage the same?"

"And in half the time," Mitsy shot back, removing her glasses. "Hey, Doctor Quinn, Medicine Woman. Hold these."  
Mitsy shoved her sunglasses in Ash's hand before he could protest, confidently strutting up to the pond. "Anything you can do, I can do better."

Adam stepped up beside her, taking a breath. "Okay. I'm ready! If mimes are the worst that's down there, then this shouldn't be too hard!"

Chris looked between the two. "And... go!" He threw an arm up, the two leaping in, Mitsy displaying surprising form.

The blonde moved gracefully through the water, diving deep down, eclipsing Adam with ease as she eluded the eels. The barracuda wasn't quite so easy- the thing biting and snapping at her heels, Mitsy losing her composure a bit as she flopped and kicked at the fish, reaching toward the ten point rod. Adam, reaching the five point, thought about trying to go further- but thought twice when he saw the mimes emerge, all focused on Mitsy. The blonde noticed too, just in time, spinning around and rapidly paddling toward the surface, Adam way ahead of her. The mimes swam after, her saving grace being that they still wore their normal clothes, weighing them down in the water.

Adam pulled himself up on grass, shaking the water off, Mitsy appearing not long after.

"Ugh... freaky clowns," she scoffed, clambering up. "That's right, no one help me or anything!"

"Well, you _did _say anything I could do, you could do better, right?" Miriam retort. "So why would you need my help?"

Ash sighed, holding out a hand. "Probably gonna regret getting involved in this, but... here, I'll help. Let's just... try _not _to bite each other's heads off. Here- your glasses, too."

Mitsy took his hand, using it to pull herself up. She snatched up her glasses, giving a quick, "thanks" before tossing her ring at Chris.

* * *

**CONFESSIONAL: MITSY**

_What? I happen to LOVE swimming in my spare time. You don't get a good beach body without actually using it, you know!_

**END CONFESSIONAL**

* * *

"Here... sorry guys," Adam murmured, handing Chris his ring. "I wanted to go for more, but, once the mimes showed up I didn't want to risk it."

"Well well, five and ten- looks like the Ferrets broke through, taking the lead!" Chris announced. "Looks like we're twenty-five to twenty-one, Ferrets!"

"Well, that isn't too bad of a lead," Peter shrugged. "Ingrid, you're up next. Do you think you can do this?"

Ingrid eyed over the pond, seriously considering the question. "Well... we have eels, a barracuda thing, mimes, and a robo-alligator. Unless... well, unless it turns into a Crocnado, I think I'll be okay."

* * *

**CONFESSIONAL: INGRID**

_So my friends signed me up for this show so I could show how cool goths are. I guess if I won this challenge for my team, that would probably work, but I don't know if I could make it all the way down to the bottom. Hmm. I think three mimes are worth about the same as a killer crocodile anyway by movie logic, so... outswimming them should probably do the trick anyway._

**CONFESSIONAL: ASH**

_Annnnd my turn. Time to show them why they need to keep the crippled guy around. _

**END CONFESSIONAL**

* * *

"And... go!"

Ingrid and Ash went. Ingrid jumped in with all the grace of a rock, while Ash gave a sort of half-dive, buckling slightly as he pushed off. When he was in the water, however, he swam quickly and with ease, passing the initial obstacles, while Ingrid floundered a bit near the top. She tried to follow him down into the depths, but received a few nasty shocks from the eels in response to her efforts; causing her to retreat back toward the surface.  
Before Ash had even reached the ten point rings, the mimes had taken notice of him, swimming toward the young man expertly. He knew he couldn't leave empty handed, though, pressing onward... and that was when he got lucky. As the mimes approached, so did the barracuda; and thankfully, the fish focused on them more than Ash. The mimes began to panic, scattering in each direction, perhaps not seeing the turn of events... Ash quickly spinning around and heading up toward the surface, ring in hand.

The two came up at around the same time, each holding a ring... Ingrid looking a little worse for wear, her make up running down her face, dying the water around her.  
Felicity let out a surprised gasp, before squinting, looking Ingrid over. "Wait... is that you Ingrid? I thought you were one of those monster mimes!"

"Just me," Ingrid sighed, rubbing her eyes. "I kind of forgot about the whole underwater thing... maybe I'll have to go with waterproof make up if we do this again."

"Definitely," Felicity giggled. "Well, its not so bad! At least you got a ring, right?"

Ingrid nodded, handing hers to Chris; five points.

"Five points, not bad. Ash?" The host turned to the blonde expectantly.

"Right here," Ash nod, handing him a ten point.

"Five and ten? That means the Ferrets stay in the lead with a score of thirty five, while the Ducks hang back with a score of twenty-six!" Chris announced. "Things are heating up- Ducks, you guys either have to REALLY step up your game, or hope that the Ferrets whiff the next few rounds if you want to recover. Only three pairs left!"

"Nice going, Ash!" Leon grinned, the two exchanging a high five as he walked up to the pond.

"Thanks!" Ash smiled, "Good luck out there, man."  
Instead of making his way to where the rest of his team was waiting though, he moved past them, sneaking away. Miriam watched him go, eyes narrowing suspiciously, before following after.

When she caught up to him, Ash was sitting on a rock at the edge of the forest. He let out slow, steady breaths as he stretched his leg, wincing a little bit each time.

"Hey. You," Miriam spoke, coming to a stop a few yards from him, arms crossed. "What are you doing out here?"

Ash looked up, surprised- unaware he had been followed. "Who, me? Just needed a breather."

"Uh huh. From what." Miriam demanded. "For someone who has to walk around with a cane, you seemed to do okay during that challenge. Are you faking?"

"Faking?" Ash seemed more perplexed than offended. "Why would I be faking?"

"For sympathy. Obviously." She rolled her eyes. "You seem in good shape, you obviously swam fine, you were cleared to compete. So answer the question. Are you faking?"

"No, no..." he sighed, looking away. "Look, its... its really not a big deal. I used to play football at my school, alright? One game, it was just a freak thing. I got... well, my leg broke pretty bad. It never really healed quite right, and it took a lot of rehab to get where I am now. I can get around okay. I mean, I can go jogging with you right now if you wanted me to- I just can't go for a marathon."  
He gave her a somewhat sad smile before continuing. "I can still _go_. It's just, after a while the pain starts to kick in. That's why I use the cane."

"Uh huh." Miriam looked him over, unsure if he was lying or not. "So... what. You're just stuck like that then?"

Ash shrugged, looking a bit unsure himself. "Well... there's surgery for it. But that's... look, I'm okay. I won't hold the team back or anything. Unless we _do _have to run a marathon. Then maybe you should bench me for that one."

He gave her a smile, but she just shook her head. "So long as you can keep up. The minute you don't, though, we're leaving you behind," Miriam told him, blunt.

* * *

**CONFESSIONAL: MIRIAM**

_I don't care about his sob story. There's enough of them in the world and I hear them all the time. All I care about is whether or not he can get it done. Today, he did. Tomorrow, we'll see._

**CONFESSIONAL: ASH**

_Friendly girl. But you know, if I didn't know any better, I'd say it's almost like she doesn't like me very much._

**END CONFESSIONAL:**

* * *

Aaron hesitantly made his way to the pond, taking a deep breath. "Okay, I'm ready."

Leon smiled, giving his opponent a wave. "Aaron! This should be a fun challenge, right?"

"Fun?" Aaron murmured. "I don't know about that. I'm not really a great diver. Or swimmer. Or athlete..."

"Don't be so hard on yourself. I'm sure you'll do fine!" Leon assured him... Rosella watching the two from a distance.

* * *

**CONFESSIONAL: ROSELLA**

_Leon and Aaron are facing each other in the challenge... it must be some kind of fate, mustn't it? Well, I know who I'm rooting for. Aaron has made his feelings quite clear already._

**END CONFESSIONAL**

* * *

Leon and Aaron's turn was a quick one. Almost as soon as they had entered the water, they had exited, each holding with them a ring- even if Aaron did look noticeably disappointed. Chris stepped forward, examining the two.  
"Well, looks like Aaron scored five points, and Leon scored ten!" he took the rings from each, tossing them in the small pile that had been forming nearby. "Starting to notice a pattern here- and that pattern isn't looking good for the Ducks! The ferrets maintain their lead, and the scores are now forty-five to thirty-one. With two turns left, the different- I mean, Diffident Ducks are gonna have to pull out something big, and do it fast!"

Peter fidgeted nervously, running a hand through his hair. "Okay... so this isn't looking good. Their team is a lot more athletic than ours. I don't know how well I'll be able to do on my own turn. If we lose..."

"Hey, come on- we can't give up!" Andy protest. "I mean, there's the ninety point ring, remember? No one has gone for it yet, but there's still a chance."

"No one's gone for it because it's too risky," Peter retort. "Out-swimming eels and mimes and a big fish are all one thing, but Franz himself is controlling that alligator. It's much easier to go for the safe points than come up with nothing."

Stephanie cut in, clearing her throat. "Then we can't play safe anymore- I'll go for the ninety points!"

"See? That's what I'm talking about," Andy smiled.

"Stephanie, are you sure? We wouldn't blame you for not wanting to swim all the way down there..." Felicity muttered, giving her a look of concern.

"Totally! I got this!" Stephanie nod her head excitedly, turning to Peter. "Look, you picked me for the team first. I gotta show you guys I earned that!"

Kyle gave a shrug. "No harm in trying right? If she doesn't, we might lose anyway. I say go for it."

Stephanie grinned. "Exactly! If I can do it, we're practically guaranteed a win!"

"Unless they get a ninety point ring too," Ingrid pointed out. "Maya seems pretty athletic... Oh, sorry. We're supposed to be supportive now, right? Well, I think you have a pretty good shot at it. Unless your make up starts running really badly. That didn't go well for me."

"Well, alright. Give it your best shot, Stephanie," Peter told her, still sounding a bit uncertain.

* * *

**CONFESSIONAL: PETER**

_Honestly, I'm a bit nervous. If Stephanie doesn't pull it off, swimming isn't really my strong suit. I was hoping today would be puzzle or... something requiring brains. This won't be a good first impression on my team._

**CONFESSIONAL: KYLE**

_You know what, I think we did alright. Our team might not have been a good match for this challenge but, all things considered, that doesn't mean we're a bad team. Even if we lose, there's always next time. El mundo gira._

**CONFESSIONAL: SHELBI**

_This reminds Shelbi of when her family would go hunting! Sometimes in a pack you're kicked out if you don't hunt well enough. So this is sort of the same thing! But Shelbi hasn't been kicked out of her pack before... Shelbi hopes this won't be the first time._

**CONFESSIONAL: STEPHANIE**

_This is it, my time to shine. I've gotta make up for last challenge here. I've gotta show why I deserve that first round pick, and why I should stick around!_

**END CONFESSIONALS**

* * *

As the Ducks had their own team session, Rosella was staring at the water, before turning to Leon, her mind racing.

* * *

**CONFESSIONAL: ROSELLA**

_This is my chance to get Leon to really notice me. I have to show him what I'm worth during this challenge!_

**END CONFESSIONAL**

* * *

"Leon... it's my turn up," Rosella began. "If I get into trouble down there, you'll pull me up, right?"

"Hmm? Uh... of course!" Leon agreed, though... he wasn't really sure why, specifically, he was being asked. "As I said, always ready to help a teammate in need!"

Rosella smiled warmly, before cautiously stepping up beside Stephanie.

"Are you both ready?" Chris asked. "Don't care- GO!"

Before the girls had a chance to respond, the host simply shoved both in. Both girls dropped in, Rosella flailing a bit- attempting to get a handle on her surroundings, but failing when she took a sting from a passing eel- then another sting, and another. Stephanie, however, turned and bolted down, determined- managing to evade the eels, and then the barracuda. Time came again for the mimes, the trio fumbling after her as she swam down, down. She was getting close; she passed the ten point marker easily, staring into the murky abyss as she went even further. When the ninety point ring finally came into view, so two did a pair of glowing eyes. The pond floor seemed to shift and move, coming alive as she drew closer. She reached out, grabbing for the ring- and when she did, the crocodile opened its mouth, bubbles floating up around her. She quickly snatched up the ring, turning back toward the surface. To her surprise, the mimes were right behind her, grinning at her approach- until they saw the monster swimming after her. The mimes quickly ditched their harpoons, even taking off their air tanks to swim faster, making for the surface like their lives depended on it... which may or may not have been the case.  
Stephanie paddled faster, and faster, clutching the ring dearly. Her chest began to tighten, running out of breath, but she had come that far and wasn't about to fail now. The crocodile opened its mouth, the barracuda swimming off, scared away, soon enough, the eels all doing the same. It snapped its jaws closed, nearly catching Stephanie, missing perhaps by half a hair. Now a little panicked, Stephanie flailed her arms wildly. Closer and closer she came, light shining down through the surface of the waves...

* * *

Rosella gasped in relief as Leon pulled her out of the water, the girl having arrived at the surface of the bonding, arms reaching and flailing. She hadn't managed to grab a ring; caught off guard by Chris' initial push, and then again by the eels, she was forced to return empty handed.

"No worries, I have you!" Leon assured her, lifting her up onto the ground, and patting her back. "Just like I said!"

Rosella looked up at Leon, her face a deep red. "Leon... you saved me..." she sighed happily.

"Saved? Well, I wouldn't go that far," he shrugged. "I'm sure you would have been fine, but, happy to help-"  
He was silenced when Rosella wrapped her arms around him, squeezing tightly.  
"Uh... you're welcome?" he blinked, confused.

More confused, however, was Aaron- watching the two from across the pond, head tilt.  
"That's... odd," he murmured to himself.

"What is?" Ingrid asked curiously, craning her head to take a look.

"Oh, um... I guess it's nothing," Aaron remarked, rubbing his neck. "It's just, Rosella was a little... weird around me the other day, but, she's kinda acting... even weirder to Leon."

Aaron didn't have too much time to contemplate this, however. A second later, Stephanie leapt up from the water, landing on the grass and pulling herself to her feet. "_OH GOSH PLEASE TELL ME IT CAN'T GO ON LAND!"_

A single "wha-" escaped Ingrid's lips, before her question was preemptively answered, the crocodile's head shooting out from the pond, spraying the contestants. A few screamed in surprise, the crocodile giving a hiss, jaw unhinging slightly.  
"Almost got you that time. Almost," Franz taunted, before slowly slinking back into the water.

"Annnnd that thing is no less horrifying the second time," Andy gulped. "...wait. Does that mean...?"

Stephanie was too winded to answer immediately, doubled over and catching her breath- before she shot her arm out, the ninety-point ring clutched in her hand.

"And Stephanie sneaks out the lead for the Ducks!" Chris declared, a bit surprised himself. "With Stephanie grabbing ninety points and Rosella grabbing zero, that means the Ducks lead with one hundred and twenty one points, to just forty five points for the Ferrets! That's a... uh... subtract the forty..."

"A seventy six point lead!" Peter finished, a wide grin spreading across his face. "That means... that means we've _won_!"

The Ducks all cheered, laughing and exchanging high fives, Stephanie grinning as she received fist bump after fist bump after pat on the back.

"You did it!"

"Great work!"

"Buen trabajo!"

"Waiiiiit a minute!" Chris interrupted. "That's all well and good, but even a big lead like that doesn't mean you've won! There's still one ninety point ring left... and it just so happens there's one turn left. Captain versus captain, Peter versus Maya."

Maya's eyes widened, the cowgirl shrinking a bit as everyone turned to look at her.

"So, no pressure or anything," Chris grinned. "But it's allllll up to you, Maya. If you can snag the ninety point ring, then it doesn't matter what score Peter gets. The Ferrets will win the game. Buuuuut... anything less than that, and you'll lose. And that'll reflect pre-tty badly on the team captain... wouldn't you say...?"

Maya gulped, eyes darting around nervously.

* * *

**CONFESSIONAL: MAYA**

_Ha ha... not nervous... at all.. ha... ha ha ha..._

**CONFESSIONAL: STEPHANIE**

_Boom! I'm back, baby!_

**END CONFESSIONALS**

* * *

The two team captains approached the pond, Maya staring down into the water, having to keep herself from shaking. They were just fish, right? And a crocodile. Nothing to be scared of. Nothing at all.

"Hey, Maya!" Stephanie called from the sidelines. "You were totally right- this _was _exciting! Knock 'em dead!"

"Aha... yeah..." Maya groaned, not even looking over to see Stephanie.

"On your marks!" Chris began. "Get set... GO!"

Peter leapt in immediately, Maya hesitating, knees buckling a bit, before Chris simply gave her a push anyway. Maya kicked and punched as she landed in the water, startled, beginning to get her bearings... that is until she saw the eels. They seemed to avoid her, for now, but that didn't stop Maya from closing her eyes and paddling downward blindly. She slowly cracked her eyes open, trying to see where she was. She passed the one point ring. Then the five point. She began to smile, regaining her confidence. This wasn't so bad. She could do this.  
The ten point ring came. Then it went. Faster she went, emboldened by her success. The ninety point ring came into view. She could _do _this. Closer and closer it came, Maya reaching out a hand. She could do it! Just a little further!

Then, something grabbed her leg. Maya's eyes widened. She let out a shrill cry- or tried, water quickly filling her mouth. Coughing and choking, she closed her eyes shut tight, spun around, and made for land. She swam upward as fast as a child bolted from their desk on the last day of school. She breathed a gasp of relief when she finally emerged, feeling the warm air hit her skin. She desperately clawed her way back on land, eager to get out.

"Somethin' got me!" she exclaimed, Ash and Leon helping her up, the cowgirl leaping away from the water. She looked back over her shoulder, panting, waiting to see if anything had followed her... but only Peter emerged, short of breath, sluggishly climbing his way out.

"Ah... sorry guys..." he apologized, Ingrid handing him his glasses. "It was t-tough, but I didn't grab a ring... I think one of those mimes got a hold of me..."

"It's no big deal," Ingrid told him, shrugging her shoulders. "What did Maya get?"

"Hm. Good question," Chris smirked, turning to the Ferrets. "What DID Maya get?"

The cowgirl hesitated, looking away, her face turning hot, before she finally opened up her empty hands.  
"Nothin'," she muttered, her voice low.

"Nothing plus nothing makes nothing- so the score stays the same! The Diffident Ducks win with a score of one-hundred and twenty-one points!" Chris announced.

The Ducks cheered, Ingrid and Felicity hugging as Kyle and Andy exchanged high fives, even Shelbi gave a celebratory howl.

"Does that mean we get to go back to being the Daring Ducks?" Peter asked, sliding his glasses back on.

Chris waved a hand dismissively. "Yeah, don't count on it. But what it does mean, is that Ferrets- you WILL be sending someone home at elimination tonight!"

It was hard for the nine teens to not look disappointed, having come so close only for victory to be snatched away at the last moment.

"Well... we tried our best, didn't we?" Leon asked, trying to stay positive.

"Our best? Our best wasn't good enough!" Miriam grunt. "All that for nothing!"

"Ferrets! Follow me!" Chris beckoned, beginning to head toward the beach. "Ducks, you have the rest of the night off, enjoy it! Or don't. I don't care."

* * *

Chris led the Ferrets to a boardwalk not far off from where the contestants had arrived on the island. There was a simple set up- a few rows of chairs in front of a Franz statue, a photobooth right beside it.

"So this-" Chris began, though he wasn't allowed to finish. A sharp crack cut him off, Franz beginning to speak.

"-is the elimination booth," the other host finished. "Each night, to cast your votes, you'll slip into that photo booth, and enter your vote into the machine. That'll feed the results to me directly, who will then announce the results while Chris hands out rewards to those who are safe."

"Wait, what? Why do you get to read the results?" Chris demanded. "That's my thing! you're stealing my thing!"

"Yeeeep. My thing now!" Franz smirked. "So. You guys have thirty minutes to talk, think about it, do whatever- then, you'll come back here, cast your votes, and SOMEONE will be sent home!"

* * *

**CONFESSIONAL: ROSELLA**

_Oh, I couldn't bear to be sent home! Not when Leon is finally beginning to notice me!_

**CONFESSIONAL: LEON**

_Well, you can't win them all. I don't know who to vote for though- it's such a tough decision!_

**CONFESSIONAL: SIMON**

_Yeaaaah, I'd much rather a kissing booth than an elimination booth. Especially with some of the chicks on my team, amirite?_

**CONFESSIONAL: ASH**

_I dunno. It's a hard call. I don't really want to send anyone home- I may have to flip a coin._

**CONFESSIONAL: MAXINE**

_Uh oh. I was one of the people not to score out there... I just hope I get another chance._

**CONFESSIONAL: MITSY**

_Hmph. I can count the amount of people on these team who AREN'T totally useless on one hand. The easier question would be, who DON'T I want to vote for._

**CONFESSIONAL: GAEL**

_Well, this isn't where I wanted to be. I hope I'm not the first gone, but... I guess I'll have to wait and see._

**CONFESSIONAL: MIRIAM**

_Great. The first elimination of the season, and its my team. I'm not thrilled, but I'll have to make sure we're all whipped into shape for the next challenge. As for who to send off- even though I can't make two votes, I think I know who to go with._

**CONFESSIONAL: MAYA**

_Welp. I'm dead._

**END CONFESSIONALS**

* * *

Back at camp, Shelbi was sniffing around the boy's cabin, Adam behind her.  
"So this is where you found the entrance to the den?" he asked, a flashlight in hand.

"Uh huh! Shelbi found it... right... here!" she led him to the back of the boy's room, where he could see a large hole dug into the earth. "Definitely one of the nicer dens Shelbi has been in!" the girl said happily. "Perfect size for her! Shelbi bets it was here for a while, though! She couldn't smell anyone down there!"

"Thanks!" Adam smiled, turning on the flashlight. "Do you... mind if I investigate this place a bit?"

"Sure," Shelbi shrugged. "Shelbi doesn't think she'll sleep under here much longer, anyway. Not with people falling on to her from the ceiling!"

"Right... well, I'll only be quick. I just wanted a look around..." Adam murmured, moving toward the hole when he was stopped by a hand on his shoulder.

"Adam? What are you doing?" Kyle asked, pulling him back a bit. He and Andy were standing behind him, quizzical looks on their faces.

"Oh, Kyle!" Adam let out a relieved sigh, a bit startled. "Well... I got curious. I just wanted to poke around in that den Andy found. Err, fell into. See what was in there."

"Uh... I don't know about that," Andy frowned. "After this morning, I think I'd rather stay well away from there."

"Really? I think it would be fun. Mind if I tag along?" Kyle asked Adam. "I love abandoned places like that. Even if it was just an animal den. Creepier the better."

"Yeah, sure!" Adam nod. "It's probably safer with more people, anyway."

"Oh. Well, um... if you're going," Andy cleared his throat, looking at Kyle. "I guess I can tag along too."

"Good! Like the three amigos," Kyle mused, giving Adam a pat on the back. "Would you mind going first, since you have the flashlight?"

"Sure! One second... just let me find my footing," Adam murmured. He hesitantly began to climb into the hole, taking a bit to get his footing. "Heh... look at us! Like Mystery Inc," he joked- before immediately slipping into the dark abyss, plummeting out of sight.

"Adam? Are you okay?" Andy called, leaning in. "Ahh, I knew this was a bad idea..."

There was a moment of silence, before the den lit up. "I'm okay!" Adam called. "Just a... bit of a knock on my head. It's all empty down here! Come on down!"

Kyle shrugged, before sitting on the ground, sliding after Adam- Andy following suit a moment later.

"Don't worry! Shelbi will sit and stand guard!" the girl offered cheerfully, sitting attentively by the entrance.

The three boys found themselves in a large, circular room, barely big enough to fit the three, finding themselves in close quarters.

"Hey... you mind moving over a bit?" Andy grunt, "It's kind of tight in here..."

"Don't worry... think I found a tunnel," Adam said, shining his light into a small burrow. "Let me check it out..."

He climbed down, beginning to shuffle through the tunnel, shining his light into the other room.  
"See anything?" Kyle called, looking around. "...you know, its weird. Doesn't seem like this place was made by an animal."

"Uh, guys?" Adam called from the next room. "Think you might want to see this..."

Kyle and Andy exchanged a glance, before ducking into the tunnel, following after Adam. It was a short crawl before they found themselves in the next chamber, Adam motioning to the wall across from him, silent.

"Alright, we're here," Andy grunt, pulling himself out. "What did you... woah."

Staring back at them was a large mural of Franz, staring back at them with a wide grin across his face. On the floor was a bedroll, old and filthy, surrounded by empty bottles of water and small Franz plushes. Written under the mural in chalk were four words, hastily scribbled.

_"__Traue dem Frettchen nicht"._

* * *

Half an hour passed. The Fancy Ferrets waited at the elimination area, sat patiently before Chris finally arrived.

"Alright, campers, looks like the votes-" he began, but predictably, Franz cut him off.

"-have been cast!" the mascot continued. "So, I'll read off the names of the people who are safe. Everyone who I list well get an over-sized, rainbow ferret lollipop. Just a heads up, we actually found those in some moldy boxes when we got here, so, you know. Maybe just... toss them in the garbage. But without further ado... the first person safe is...

Ash.

Also safe tonight, Leon."

The two boys smiled, exchanging a high five as they received their lollipops.

"Mitsy and Miriam, you two are also safe for the time being, surprising as it is. I guess it _isn't _a popularity contest after all."

The two girls shot each other a nasty glare, snatching up their rewards.

"Also surprisingly... Simon is safe."

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" he huffed, Chris dropping the candy by his feet.

"Annnd, unsurprisingly, that leaves the four people who failed to score," Franz hummed. "Am I surprised that this is how it ended up? No, not at all. But I'll give you four a second to soak up the tension."

Maya, Gael, Maxine and Rosella all looked around at each other.

"Uh... we're ready," Gael muttered, taking a deep breath.

"I don't care if _you're_ ready," Franz snapped. "I said we were taking a second to soak up the tension!... We good? Tension soaked? Okay. So, of you, first safe is... Rosella."

Rosella gasped, so surprised that she missed the treat Chris tossed at her. "Yes! I'm safe!"

"Also safe... is Maya."

Maya let out a loud gasp of relief. "Oh thank goodness, I... I, I mean... yee-haw! I knew I'd be safe!" she grinned, standing up and snatching her candy away from Chris. "I did it, woo!"

"Gael. Maxine." Franz cleared his throat, the two campers sharing a nervous glance. "I can't say I didn't see this coming- mostly because I knew the results as of twenty minutes ago. But only one of you gets to stay here. And that person is...

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

"...SURPRISE! No elimination tonight! You both get to stay!" Franz announced.

Both let out gasps of relief. "REALLY?" Maxine asked, a smiled crossing her lips.

Franz just laughed. "No, yanking your chain! For real this time, Gael, you are SAFE! Maxine... time for you to go home!"

Gael caught his candy, stunned. "Wait... are you guys sure?"

Maxine stood up, sighing. "First gone... well, I just hope for your guys sake there isn't an eating challenge next."

"Right this way to the Dock of Shame," Chris offered with a smirk, extending an arm to gesture to the nearby boardwalk. "Where you'll be riding... him!"

On queue, the whale that had surprised the contestants on their initial arrival emerged from the water, opening its mouth wide.

"Wait... I have to ride in THAT?" Maxine asked, gulping.

"We assure you it's perfectly safe," Franz told her. "...probably. Look, it just swims you away a little bit for show, there's another boat right over there."

Maxine let out a sigh. "Well... if this is it... bye guys. Thanks for letting me be on Total Drama," she muttered, heading toward the dock. She stopped in front of the whale, contemplating, before Chris snuck up from behind, pushing her in, the animatronic's jaws snapping shut before disappearing under the water.

"You know, I was in a bad mood- but that made it all worth it!" the host grinned.

* * *

Shortly after, the Ferrets were beginning to trickle back to camp, talking amongst themselves as they made for the dining room. From the trees, a figure watched them; Peter. He scowled to himself, pushing his glasses up on his nose, before scribbling something in his book.

**CONFESSIONAL: PETER**

_I wasn't so sure it would, but my plan worked like a charm. Low visibility in the pond, plus the mimes swimming around meant no one could really pin sabotage on me... and I barely had to do anything at all! I grabbed Maya's foot and she swam off screaming! I knew I couldn't beat Maya... so all I had to do was make sure she didn't beat me. Shame about Maxine though. See, I have this competition formulated perfectly. I thought Maya blowing the last round with that attitude of hers would be enough to get her sent home, taking them down one of their strongest players. Ah, well... there's always next time. Heheheh._

**END CONFESSIONAL**

* * *

**_To Be Continued..._**

* * *

(A/N: Duhn duhn duhnnn! Well, that's it for this episode folks, hope you enjoyed! Like I said though, couple of quick announcements. On my profile, I have a poll up. Last time I mentioned I wasn't intending so many two-part episodes, but the responses I got via PM and review were positive toward the notion. so, I put up a poll asking officially what you guys would prefer; frequent, smaller chapters- around 5k words- or less frequent, larger chapters, anything around or more than 10k words? This chapter alone, if one part, would have been something like 13k, 14k words, so I'm just curious as to what you guys prefer. Longer waits for a complete product, or quicker, more digestible episodes. AFTER this poll, however, over the weekend I'm going to put up a character popularity poll. I know, I know. Very early into the competition for that, right? Well, that's kinda the point. I was thinking of doing a popularity poll now, and one at the very end, to see what characters changed and became more- or less- popular over time. This is sorta a... first impressions poll? This ties into the very end, where I thought it would be fun to do some "end of season" awards. Just listing off a few statistics, like most popular character, most improved in terms of popularity, favorite episode, favorite couple, etc. But, as for now, gonna take a break from writing and enjoy down time. Hopefully the next episode will be up in a week, perhaps too. Either way, hope you guys enjoyed- I'm off to play some ESO!)


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